


Awake and Unafraid, Asleep or Dead

by gotsichi7



Category: GOT7
Genre: Fairies, M/M, Magic, Snow White AU, a got7 twist, all other got7 members are also characters in snow white, also there is some violence, but its not explicit or in anyway descriptive, but they are never properly mentioned, commoner mark, fairytale AU, i guess there are underlying dark themes, i guess you have to guess who is who, i will tag this as i go, is that a spoiler, jinyoung as snow white, jinyoungficfest, nor is it violent to a point of major injury, oh well, prince jinyoung, snow white with a twist
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-30
Updated: 2017-05-10
Packaged: 2018-09-03 06:13:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 27,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8700625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gotsichi7/pseuds/gotsichi7
Summary: Prince Jinyoung was born from a wish made by his mother who wanted a princess with skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, and hair as black as night. there was just one problem, he was a prince not a princess. 
GOT7 in a Snow White REMIX





	1. Son, when you grow up will you be the saviour of the broken, the beaten and the damned?

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [JinyoungFicFest](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/JinyoungFicFest) collection. 



> **Prompt:**  
>  Fairytale AU where Jinyoung is a prince (Prince Jinyoung) and Mark is a commoner!  
> Rating is up to the author. Would love a looong or chaptered fic!
> 
> originally i wanted to write this fic as a looooooong fic. however, i procrastinated on proofreading. thus i will post it by chapters. i hope this fic fulfilled the prompt ! <3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once upon a time, there was a princess named Snow White. Nope, that isn't the case. There was a prince named Jinyoung but at least there was Mark waiting for him

Once upon a time there was a prince called Jinyoung who lived in a grand castle in a faraway land.

Prince Jinyoung was a pure soul who enjoyed strolls in the castle grounds singing with the wild birds and animals. But behind the wide smile and little giggles is a lonely boy with sorrow in his heart.

Prince Jinyoung was brought into the world by the Queen of the castle who was adored by her kingdom. The queen who was known for her beauty enjoyed strolls in the forest that led out of the city. On a cold winter’s day, the queen pricked her finger on a Hawthorn tree. The torn pierced deep into the flesh of the queen’s index finger and three drops of blood dripped onto the white snow on the ground. The stark contrast of her red blood in the white snow by the harsh black Hawthorn tree made her utter a simple wish.

“How I wish to have a princess with skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood and hair as dark as night”

The very next winter, Jinyoung was born and true to the queen wish, he had skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood and hair as dark as night. However, the queen was granted a prince instead of a princess. The king and queen however adored their son and showered their prince with a grand ball to celebrate his birth.

Not long after her birth though, the queen fell ill and the kingdom was put into state of mourning when it was announce the queen had died.

It was tragic but little Jinyoung was still a baby and had no chance of truly feeling a mother’s love. Prince Jinyoung grew up close to his father, who ruled his kingdom in peace. His father, who had loved him for he is the only family he had left, never forgot to tell wonderful stories of Jinyoung’s kind mother and daily Jinyoung heard of how his mother had loved him. Every day he was assured that his mother wouldn’t have hesitated to give her life to make sure her son was well.

It was fall of his seventh birthday when his father had announce that he would remarry. Jinyoung was elated to find his step-mother was beautiful. He was however greeted by disappointment when he learnt that beauty does not reside easily in everybody. His stepmother was mean and sprouted insults to him whenever his father was not looking. The small prince had never been treated badly and was sent to bed crying each night.

It would have been easier if he could tell his father of the wrongdoings done to him.

But his father was happy with his new wife and Jinyoung couldn’t imagine breaking his heart.

So he bit his tongue and held in tears, as each insult was pelt his way. Prince Jinyoung was 7 but if it was one thing he had gained from his mother’s death is that you do whatever you can to make sure your loved one is happy. His mother died for him and his feelings were a small sacrifice for his father’s happiness. As long as his father kissed him good night before he sleeps and greets him good morning at breakfast he was fine.

But things didn’t continue to become fine.

As soon as snow fell on the castle ground, his father had fallen ill. Jinyoung was only a child and he could not bear the thought of losing his father. So he cried.

His father, however, told him “A king must stand strong for his kingdom. A son must be brave for his father”

In the dead of night, as Jinyoung cried into his father’s hand, his father said his last words. “You are as kind-hearted as your mother but you lack courage. Be brave, my son”

It was stated in the law that the queen shall rule the kingdom under circumstance that the king died. As the crown prince, the throne could only be claimed at the age of 19 and Jinyoung was barely reaching 8 years old. So it was then that the queen was crowned as the ruler of the kingdom until such time that Jinyoung was of age to rule the kingdom.

To say that Jinyoung was devastated that his father had died was an understatement. He was now left to live with his step mother who hated him and each day since the woman had come into his life was torture.

It was the night after the crowning ceremony that Jinyoung truly understood how much he was going to hate life from this day on. The queen had summoned him to her chambers and called all the servants out.

“Jinyoungie,” she snarled making the hairs on the back of Jinyoung’s neck stand. “I want to make you a proposition,”

Jinyoung watched as she combed her brunette hair straight with a brush, watching Jinyoung through her mirror. Jinyoung tried not to seem afraid but he was afraid.

“You are only 7 and it would be a shame to kill you,” she smirked. Jinyoung’s eyes flew wide open. “And after your father’s death it would be quite suspicious if you were to die too,”

“You murderer!” Jinyoung screamed, he could feel tears threatening to leave his eyes. But he wasn’t going to cry, not in front of his father’s murderer. “I will report you!”

She breaks into an evil laugh and rises from her seat at her dressing table. She paces towards small Jinyoung and an evil smirk paints her haunting features. “And who would believe a small boy like you, Jinyoung. They would think you are crazy with grief and lock you up with treatment,”

Jinyoung glared at her. She was right.

“You have nowhere to go, little boy. And as much as I want you dead, you are the only thing that would keep me queen. So I have a proposition for you,” she pauses in her stride to take a sharp look at Jinyoung. “Be a good little prince and I’ll let you live on the castle grounds. Let me rule this kingdom and I will let you live in the ground your ancestors built. Betray me and I shall kill you,”

“What is the use of life if I have nothing but suffering,”

“Oh but young boy, you are the prince to the kingdom. You’re responsibility lies in your subjects. Do you think I would not hesitate to cruelly murder your servants if you do not abide me?”

Jinyoung held in his tears as he thinks of the maids that raise him, the soldiers and the people of his kingdom. If it was anything his father had loved more than him was serving the people and it would be a disgrace if he selfishly thought of letting the evil queen torture them.

Jinyoung dropped to his feet and started crying, the pain simply too much to hold for his 7 year old self. He had just lost his father, and his kingdom. If it was the last thing he did, he was going to make sure the people were at least safe.

It was such a heavy burden for a young prince to carry.

The dark times then fell onto the kingdom. Prince Jinyoung was still too young to protect the kingdom from the unjust ruling of the evil queen. She sucked the land dry of resources and eventually the people lived in poor conditions. The castle grew quiet and darker as the any signs of life were chased away by Jinyoung’s stepmother. Music was banned from being played unless at royal balls. Royal balls were seen as a waste of resources. The people who sought help from the castle were shunned for public misconduct.

The queen was an evil and vain woman. Her jealousy led her to forbid pretty dresses or corset. No women were to dress beautifully and women that did were sentence to the dungeon.

Jinyoung hated his life being unable to do anything but watch his kingdom fall to the ground.

So, there was a prince who had a lonely heart filled with sorrow from his tainted past but sang to birds as he waits for his age to finally reach 19.

 

-o0o-

 

Jinyoung liked to sneak out of the castle to sit at the hawthorn tree his mother had pricked her finger on. He wore a big cape that masked his face with a red apple in his hand as he heads into the forest. The legend has it that the forest is magical and that scary monster lurk in it. Jinyoung however has the path to the tree memorized by heart and feels most at home with the tree.

Jinyoung reads by the tree but most times he sings so the birds of the forest crowd him and reply his whistling and notes. The forest comes alive with him.

Sometimes Jinyoung thinks they understand him.

“Do all birds flock over for your company?”

Jinyoung jumped at the sound of a voice behind him. He looked behind him to see a young man in dirty clothing with a small smile looking at him.

“Did I frighten you?”

Jinyoung furrowed his eyebrows at the man, getting up from the ground to his feet. “Who are you and what are you doing here?”

“Mark” he said with a polite bow. “I work in the mines in the forest”

Jinyoung looked at the blotches of coal that stained his clothing and his bag of tools that he dragged.

“Are you headed into the town?” Jinyoung asked out of curiosity. He had been sitting at this tree for all his life but he had never crossed paths with anyone.

Mark shook his head in disagreement. “I live in the forest”

“Then why are you here?”

“I heard singing and wanted to know where it was coming from,” Mark said as he set his bag of tools on the ground. He approaches closer to Jinyoung and smiled. “Can you teach me?”

“Teach you?”

“How to call the birds”

Jinyoung laughed and looked up into the taller trees that surrounded the short hawthorn tree. He lets a soft whistle leave his mouth when he spots nightingale in the tree. The nightingale swoops down and lands on the finger that Jinyoung held in front of his chest.  

“You’re a natural. What’s your name?”

Jinyoung eyes flew open in shock. He hadn’t realized that Mark didn’t know who he was.

“Jinyoung”

“Well, Jinyoung. will you teach me?”

 

 


	2. This Is How I Disappear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Half-truths are whole lies and this is how i disappear

It had somehow been some sort of normality that Jinyoung meets Mark at the hawthorn tree. They never set up the meeting and at times, Jinyoung arrives and sits alone for hours. Other times, Jinyoung arrives with Mark’s weak attempt at whistling echoing throughout the forest.

They talk. Jinyoung addicted to talking to Mark because he had never been treated like an equal before. He had always been the prince of the kingdom. And Jinyoung doesn’t have any plans on revealing to Mark that he was a prince. At least not yet.

“What are you thinking about?”

Jinyoung looked at the brunette towering over him. Jinyoung sat leaning on the tree, his legs propped towards his chest and a book was cupped in his hand; obviously forgotten.

“Sit down with me, Mark” Jinyoung said lightly. Mark set his bag of tools to lean on the roots of the tree that protruded the ground as he sat next to Jinyoung.

“Do you believe in magic?”

Mark snorts. “Was that what you were thinking about?”

“Do you?” Jinyoung asked ignoring Mark’s comments on making fun of his childish curiosity.

“Aren’t you a little old to be thinking about magic fantasies?” Mark furrowed his eyebrows in a sort of playful mocking way. His expression quickly turned into laughter when Jinyoung pouts. Jinyoung was 18 and he has another year before he turns into a proper adult and hopefully take back his throne.

“I don’t really believe in magic. I think if it exists it would have solved a lot of my problems by now” Mark smirked, toying with his tool bag. Mark came from a big family and his family were forced out of the town due to poverty. They mine what little coal that is left in the mountains daily to at least put some food on the table. But Jinyoung knew, food was scarce and tools were expensive. His stepmother had made sure only the castle could enjoy the luxuries of comfort. The discomfort in his stomach reminded him he was the root cause of it.

“I don’t know” Jinyoung said thoughtfully, wishing the bitter thoughts away from his mind. “There is a story about this tree that makes me sometimes think magic is real”

“Is Jinyoung finally telling me what he does besides read?” Mark teased which earned him a smack on the shoulder. Jinyoung had always been secretive about what he does for an obvious reason but Mark seemed to find fun in teasing him about it. Mark laughed at the exchange and Jinyoung suppressed the urge to bottle his laughter. He was addicted to that laugh just as much as he was addicted to meeting Mark here.

“My mother pricked her finger on the thorns of this tree in winter. She made a wish for a daughter who had skin white as snow, lips red as blood and hair black as night but somehow, she was stuck with me”

Jinyoung could see Mark scanning his features for a moment. His eyes looking at his face and lands at his lips.

“To be fair, you do have stunningly pale skin, glossy red lips and really dark hair”

Jinyoung tried to not think of the flutter in his heart as Mark stared at his lips.

“But I’m not a girl” he replied, biting his bottom lip.

Mark looked at him with a sneaky smile. “So am I, town boy”

Mark cackled as Jinyoung dove into his direction. They wrestle on the ground, rustling the autumn leaves. Jinyoung trying really hard to hit Mark’s playful smirk off his face and Mark trying hard to not be beat by his friend. They’ve only known each other for less than two weeks but already Jinyoung has never been closer to anyone else.

Mark not only enjoyed teasing him with awful puns and cheeky remarks but Mark also had the nickname ‘town boy’ for him. Jinyoung had never been given a nickname and even though it wasn’t technically correct – he was not a town boy but Mark didn’t need to know that – Jinyoung enjoyed it. It created a form of bond Jinyoung was never granted with anyone else; closeness.

They lay sprawled side by side on the ground, breath laboured from exhaustion but giggles occasionally leaving their tired bodies.

“For what it’s worth, you don’t need to be a girl to be beautiful. I’m pretty sure you’re mother is proud to have you as a son” Mark said propping elbows so his head could rest on his palms.

Jinyoung’s stomach does a little flip at Mark implying he was beautiful.

“I wouldn’t know” Jinyoung whispered, still catching his breath. “She passed away”

“I’m sorry. I had no idea”

“It’s alright” Jinyoung offered a smile.

Mark looked at Jinyoung tenderly. He picked up Jinyoung’s hands and intertwined it with his own. “I still think she would be proud though. If only she could hear you sing”

Jinyoung watched the sunlight play of Mark’s handsome features and it hits him. The fastening in his heart rate and the bloom of happiness he felt were only feelings he felt around Mark. It wasn’t just because Mark treats him like an equal. It was because he was falling in love with him.

Jinyoung, the prince, was falling in love with the coal miner of the forest, Mark.

 

-o0o-

 

“Are you skipping work to spend time with me?”

They were perched by the tree again. Jinyoung abused throat now causing his voice to sound hoarse. He had been imitating sounds of different birds, trying to imitate their call. Mark had pointed out that no matter what sound he made the birds still came to him. They just didn’t seem to like Mark.

“My brothers only hate me a little more than they already do. It’s no big deal, town boy” Mark mumbled as he kicked dead leaves off the ground. He had long given up whistling trying to get birds to come to him. There was simply no point.

“Are you using me as an excuse to be lazy?”

“Maybe” he smirked and Jinyoung falls just a little deeper.

 

-o0o-

 

Days fly by so fast and autumn was coming to an end. The weather in the kingdom was too chilly for them to sit around at the tree. So they have resorted into walking. Mark armed with a dagger in case they ran into wild animals and Jinyoung follows Mark calmly.

Mark insists that there are dangers that lurk in the forest much like the rumours Jinyoung was used to hearing. Jinyoung just never encounters them. And to be frank, the castle seemed like a more dangerous place than the forests.

At least, animals that kill you aren’t two-faced liars.

“Would you still be friends with me if I’m not who you think I am?”

Mark stopped midway into cutting of a branch to clear a route to look at Jinyoung with a puzzled look. “Who could you possibly be?”

“Just answer the question, Mark” Jinyoung said rolling his eyes. He pets the sparrow that had seemed to refuse to leave his shoulder since he entered the forest and it let out a small chirp of satisfaction.

“If the birds like you, you can’t be that bad”

 

-o0o-

 

“It may be hard to come back and do nothing here in the future” Jinyoung announced when he had finally arrived at the clearing. The hawthorn tree was dusted with snow and the protruding roots were no longer visible under the bed of snow. The winters were harsh and darkness arrived early so the time they had together were already limited.

The queen however had started to notice that Jinyoung went missing for chunks of the day everyday and she now had ordered him to be followed. Jinyoung has to put special effort to sneak out and could never spend more than an hour roaming the forest with Mark. His days were seeming gloomier by each day.

Today, he had almost been caught but he had snuck out from the busy kitchen with the help of his kitchen helpers. Yet, it was still risky.

“Going to be busy, town boy?” Mark said from where he was leaning on the tree. Mark had a knife and was peeling what seemed to be an apple. Judging from the mess of apple skin surrounding him he must have been waiting for awhile now.

“Maybe” Jinyoung whispered. He felt bad. Maybe they should set a time to meet so Mark wouldn’t have to wait any longer than he needed to. But Jinyoung really couldn’t stick to schedule. He needed flexibility.

“What is it that you do in town?” Mark asked suspiciously. This question had risen in the time they had spent with each other. But Jinyoung refused to give a straight answer.

“Something” Jinyoung said trying to seem nonchalant. He whistles trying to find something to do to avoid confrontation. A dove swoops down on his shoulder. He started to sing a melody he knew doves could easily imitate.

“I hate it when you are so vague” Mark groans. “When you are here, sing as loud as you can”

“I will try” Jinyoung said.

“You want to see something I found while waiting for you?” Mark huffed, pushing his body off the tree to hand Jinyoung the apple he had in his hand. Jinyoung nods and mumbled a thanks as he followed Mark who was skipping excitedly, deeper into the forest.

“Why do you peel of the skin of the apple? It’s my favourite part” Jinyoung whined, letting the dove on his shoulder nip the apple in his hand.

“Apple skin is poison” Mark exaggeratingly exasperated. Mark was playful and Jinyoung loved it. Jinyoung would escape the guards’ any day for a chance to see Mark laugh gleefully.

They thread into the depths of the forest until Mark came into a halt. Jinyoung idly whistling to the dove on his shoulder, enjoying the company he was depraved of in the castle.

“Do you hear that?”

Jinyoung’s ears perked to listen to his surroundings. There were faint sounds of wind howling but beneath it Jinyoung could hear a constant thumping. The sound getting louder the more Jinyoung heard it. The dove flew of his shoulders and Jinyoung watched it fly. It's cooing loud and shrill as if it wanted Jinyoung's attention. It's then that Jinyoung saw the fast movement behind the trees and the sounds of hooves thundering the ground. 

“Horses?” Mark asked to no one in particular. Jinyoung gulped.

“We need to hide!” Jinyoung practically screeched yanking onto Mark’s wrist pulling him towards the largest tree Jinyoung could find.

“The castle guards?” Mark whispered. Jinyoung could feel his breath on his skin. “Jinyoung, why are we hiding from the castle guards?”

Jinyoung hushed Mark and closed his eyes, hoping the guards wouldn’t see them. The sounds of hooves thundering the ground however were only getting louder by the minute.

“What’s going on?” Mark asked. His complexion pale from what Jinyoung could only see as confusion and fear. He backed away out of Jinyoung’s grip and accidently steps onto a branch. The sound echoed through the forest gaining the attentions of the guards.

Jinyoung winced.

“Stay here until they’re all gone, Mark” Jinyoung warned as he held Mark against the tree to hide him. “Don’t you dare come out!”

Mark looked more confused than ever as Jinyoung raises his hands in surrender and walked out from where they were hiding. He takes one last look at Mark. This would probably be the last time Mark would see him as an equal. This would be the last time he would see Mark.

_I’m sorry._

Jinyoung faces the smug look on the guards face as he approached. There were at least 8 of them and Jinyoung was severely outnumbered. He couldn’t run because they were on horses and Jinyoung was on foot. It would only be foolish. He had no way out. He was to face the evil queen’s wrath whether they like it or not.

“Finally decided you had enough of hiding, eh?” the guard said as he dismounted his stead to place a heavy arm across Jinyoung’s shoulder.

Jinyoung knew the most loyal men of the queen were filthy. They would do whatever it was to please their queen and took particular pleasure in making him uncomfortable. It was no secret Jinyoung hated the queen from within the castle. There were no telling what torment they would put on him to reach the castle.

“The queen isn’t so pleased, sire” he taunted, making Jinyoung want to punch his face.

“Keep your hands to yourself please” Jinyoung said between gritted teeth. With just enough force, the guards would know their places; Jinyoung hoped.

However, they didn’t.

“I hope one day, the queen announces you as the traitor you are and then I wouldn’t be so nice” one of the men threatens as he roughly pushes Jinyoung to the ground. Jinyoung felt shame as he thought of Mark watching him being tormented this way. He had never been angrier about the torments than this moment.

“Stop!”

Jinyoung eyes flew open at the voice.

“Mark... No!”

It all happened too fast. Jinyoung was blocked from approaching. He struggled against their grip but it was no use. All the guards charged towards Mark immediately reprimanding him. Jinyoung could see Mark shouting as he struggled, trying to free himself. But he was outnumbered and so was Jinyoung.

“Who are you, boy?”

Jinyoung watched in terror as the man clad in armour kicked Mark in his stomach.

“Who are you to defy the orders of the queen?” he mocked as kicked Mark harder causing Mark to groan in pain.

“Stop!” Jinyoung shouted desperately. “Stop! Leave him out of this! He did nothing wrong!”

“He tried to hit the castle guards and tried to kidnap you, sire. He is guilty of treason to the queen” he said blocking Jinyoung from running Mark’s side. Jinyoung winces as Mark wiped the blood running down his nose with the edge of his sleeve.

“He did no such thing” Jinyoung said, challenging the head guard. “If you are here to take me, then take me. Leave him out of this”

Mark finally looked up at him and Jinyoung just wants to be by his side. But he had to stand his ground or the guards would hurt him further. He could see the tint of sadness in Mark’s eyes but Jinyoung couldn’t do anything about it. He could only leave. It was for the better.

“I’m sorry” he mumbled under his breath as the guards pull him away.

 

-o0o-

 

“You are pathetic” the queen screeches at him. “Did you think I wouldn’t notice that you were gone?”

Jinyoung felt anger surge in his heart. She was spewing nonsense just to spite him and Jinyoung hated that it was working.

“It doesn’t matter what you say. It’ll be my birthday in two weeks and this will all be over for you”

“Would it?” she taunted. “You haven’t been paying attention to the rulings, have you?”

“You wouldn’t!” Jinyoung outraged. “You promised!”

She breaks into a high pitched evil laugh that sends chills down Jinyoung’s spine.

“I promised you? I never promised you anything,” she snarled, standing up from her seat to face Jinyoung. “You delusional little boy, I wasn’t about to handover the kingdom to you. I was never going to,”

“You are vile! You disgust me!”

She chuckled as he stood rooted in the middle of the room. Her dark eyes scanned Jinyoung. “Leave,” she said as she turned her back.

“I will expose you to the Kingdom. You will be hanged for treason!” Jinyoung screamed, rage making his blood boil.

“tsk... tsk.. tsk..” she tooted as she glanced sideways at Jinyoung. “Do you not realize who you are up against boy?”

She lifts her arm in an exaggerated motion as she turned to Jinyoung. “I killed your father”

It was then Jinyoung felt like there was a force clamping down his neck, cutting off his air supply. He watched helplessly at the evil queen’s hand that was raised at his direction. The queen was choking him without even laying a finger on him. The queen was choking him with magic.

 “You are a witch” he choked, struggling as he felt himself lift of the ground from the unknown force.

“Yes, Jinyoung, I am a witch. A powerful one that was able to kill your father,” she laughed. “It was easy. A simple love potion and you’re father would have died for me,”

Jinyoung struggled against the strong grasp that was lifting him off the ground. His eyes trained on the murderer of his father.

“He told me of his sufferings before he died. Side effects of the potion, you see. He told me that your mother wanted a daughter not a son,” an evil smirk etched on her face as she watched Jinyoung suffocate. “He told me that your mother died because of you,”

“If it weren’t for you, Jinyoung, you’re mother would still be here and I would have never killed him. It is your fault that your parents died,”

“No...” Jinyoung pleaded. He could feel his heartbeat slow down and his vision blur. He was dying and there was nothing he could do. The tears streaming down his cheeks were fruitless like his efforts to make something in his life. In the end, he was the source of suffering to the whole kingdom.

“Maybe if you were a girl,” she taunted. “You’re mother would have gotten what she wanted and your father wouldn’t have blamed you for her death. But you were never what they wanted!”

Her laughter echoed the room and Jinyoung could feel his consciousness almost slipping out of his grasp.

“It’s too late now, boy,” she breathed as she came closer to Jinyoung’s struggling body.

“YOU ARE NOTHING...”

_I’m dying..._

“BUT A...”

_This is the end..._

“POWERLESS...”

 _It can’t be_...

“PATHETIC”

_I can’t breathe..._

“SCUM!”

Jinyoung could feel his limbs giving up on struggling against gravity. His energy drained and his vision lowly turning darker and darker before there was a knock on the door. Jinyoung coughed for air as he fell with a thud on the ground.

“I trust this is a sufficient warning, Jinyoung”

Jinyoung slipped out as the doors open to reveal servants urgently entering to chambers. Then, he ran as fast as his feet would take him towards the library. He needed some space to let the information sink in. He needed to recollect himself before the queen would finish him.

A chill ran down his spine when he realized that there was no way he would have been alive if it weren’t for that knock. And every second he spent in the castle meant the closer he was to his doom.

He needs to run.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is significantly longer than the last chapter. Also titles of the chapters are somehow MCR lyrics. somehow i refuse to write without music inspiration. Hope you liked this chapter. Tell me what you think. <3


	3. Run, Run, Bunny, Run (2x)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jinyoung finds solace in the forest

** Chapter 3: Run, Run, Bunny, Run (2x) **

 

The library is the first place he runs to. It’s predictable but no one in these castles knew the library like he did. If the guards were to chase him here he knew where to hide. They were idiots and Jinyoung could easily outsmart them. When he swung open the library doors he slinked into his reading chair trying to catch his breath. Everything was overwhelming. His thoughts were running 100 miles per minute and he was having trouble catching up. What was he going to do now?

Should he just run away?

But what about his royal subjects and the villagers?

What about the kingdom his father had tried to rise with so much difficulty?

_He told me that your mother died because of you._

“Your Highness, Prince Jinyoung!”A man clad in black leather armour barged in looking around urgently. Jinyoung stared at the handsome features of the man in front of him and wondered if he had ever seen this man. Did this man work in the castle?

“Your Highness, you must come with me this instant. You are in grave danger!”

“Who are you?”

“My name is Jaebum and I will explain later but for now, we must leave at once! The queen has given the order to kill you for your heart, your highness.”

“Kill me?” Jinyoung swallowed. “How do you know this?” He nearly shouts, fearing for his life. If the queen was on a mission to kill him then he was sure as hell doomed. He was not magic and wasn’t able to conjure up choking forces. All he was capable of was running and yet leaving his castle felt so wrong.

“There is no time, sire” Jaebum begged.

It was all blurry from that point on as he followed Jaebum through the hallways of the castle with a heavy heart. They crept into the stables for a horse each and left into the dark of the night. Everything was too overwhelming and if Jinyoung was completely honest, one wrong step and he would break into shameful tears. But the sounds of the wind against the dark forest were holding his emotions into a mix of fear and adrenaline.

The tears will have to wait.

“Where are you taking me?” Jinyoung finally asked as the horses slowed down when they approached a clearing. “Who are you and why are you helping me?”

It was dark and the only light was from the torch in Jaebum’s hand that he held high above his head. “My father is a huntsman of the castle. When the king died, he had only stayed in the castle in order to ensure of your safety”

“My safety?”

“My father believed that your father was murdered” Jaebum whispered almost as if he thought Jinyoung had no idea. “And he believed you were next. Rightfully so, he was given a direct order to kill you and immediately asked me to help you escape”

“Thank you for helping me but where are you taking me?” Jinyoung called.

They had past further than where Jinyoung was used to walking. He was unfamiliar with these parts of the forest and it was simply too dark for Jinyoung to see anything. He felt fear fill his lungs as the cold night air bit into his skin as Jaebum came to a halt.

“This is as far as I can take you” Jaebum announced. “Go deep into the forest where no will find you”

“And how do you suppose I survive in these forests with only the clothes on my back?”

Jaebum glanced at him and thought for a second. He reached for his sword and Jinyoung instinctively flinches away. Jaebum might say that his father’s alliance was with the King but he also might be a liar. He could easily kill Jinyoung in the darkness of the forest. He could easily betray him and leave him for death as easily as it is for him to lead him to safety.

“Relax, I’m not going to kill you,” he said as he unhooks the sword off his belt. “Take this. It is the only weapon I can offer you. Now you must go,”

Jinyoung catches the sword and settles it into his now, dirtied garments.

“Where do I go?”

“Deeper into the forest where none of the palace guards will ever find you,”

“But why can’t you take me?”

“When the queen realizes that the huntsman’s son is missing after the order to kill you was made she will suspect him. I must be back before they harm my father. From this point, you are on your own”

“What about the people?”

Jaebum looked at him with a sad expression. “I don’t know”

“I cannot leave the people in the hands of the evil queen,” Jinyoung exasperates. “I must go back!”

“You are the only true heir and our only hope, sire,” he said desperately. “For now, you are needed alive,”

“I am good as dead in these forests,”

“Have a little faith, Prince Jinyoung. The forests are your allies,”

Jinyoung blinked at the small smile splayed on the Jaebum’s face. “W-wha”

“I must go now. Here, you will need it more than me,” Jaebum said as he hands the torch to Jinyoung and bows low to the ground before mounting his horse and disappearing into the darkness. Jinyoung takes a single look around him and starts blindly leading his horse through the darkness in the opposite direction of Jaebum. He tries not to cry but fails miserably.

 

-o0o-

 

Jinyoung’s eyes flutter open to find a boy staring at him. He jerks awake immediately arming himself with the dagger.

“Who are you?” he shouts at the seemingly nonchalant boy in front of him.

“There is no need for weapons. If I had wanted to kill you, I would have killed you.”

Jinyoung stared at the boy in front of him who was smiling. He seemed younger but not far behind his age. His clothes were dirty and he was skinny. Jinyoung then noticed that his horse was gone. He had tried to tie it to a tree but his knot must have not held. He then noticed that there was an extinguishing fire and a cloth from where Jinyoung had laid.

Had the boy took care of him through the cold night?

“Who are you?” Jinyoung repeats as he puts his dagger away.

“My name is Yugyeom” he beamed.

“Did you make this fire?”

Yugyeom nodded sheepishly. Jinyoung had attempted a fire last night but it was in the middle of winter and the branches were damp. Jinyoung tried his best but nothing happened. In the end, exhaustion took over and he fell asleep. His last thoughts were he was going to freeze to death.

But he had awakened to find Yugyeom.

“You could have died in these temperatures” Yugyeom explained. He stands and Jinyoung takes note of their significant height difference. Yugyeom might seem younger but he was obviously taller.

“Thank you” Jinyoung offered. There was a thousand and one questions going through his head but Yugyeom had helped him survive the night. If he had any bad intentions, Jinyoung could not sense it. “Why did you help me?”

“Do you believe in magic?” Yugyeom asked with a teasing smile, looking at Jinyoung expectantly and completely ignoring the others question. Jinyoung stared at him, mouth hanging from disbelief.

“Magic?”

“Do you believe in magic?” Yugyeom emphasized pressing for an answer.

“I don’t know?”

“Do you think it was a mere coincidence that your mother’s wish came true?”

If Jinyoung had been shocked just now, he was more shocked now. Who was this Yugyeom kid and how did he know about what his mother had wished? No one in the kingdom knew of it besides his parents, the evil queen and to a certain point, Mark. Jinyoung immediately withdraws his dagger. If this boy knew about his mother he must be working with the queen.

“Who are you?” Jinyoung shrills. “How did you know about my mother?”

“Do you believe in magic, Jinyoung?”

Jinyoung was frantic. This boy knew his name and may not be who he seemed to be but Yugyeom didn’t seem to want to talk as long as he didn’t answer the question.

“It's been used on me” Jinyoung said. His grip on the dagger was strong, turning his knuckles white. He thinks of the time he had almost died in the hands of magic and a shiver runs down his spine.

“That was black magic, Jinyoung and should never be compared to magic I speak of” Yugyeom states like I was the most obvious thing in the world. Jinyoung tried not to think of how Yugyeom was reading his mind.

“Your mother made a wish and you came into the world” Yugyeom said, approaching Jinyoung.

“My mother asked for a princess not a prince”

Yugyeom tooted. “Your mother asked for a child but your father tells the story wrong. He thought fair skin, red lips and black hair would equal a princess”

Jinyoung furrowed his eyebrows, his hands shaking from the fear pumping through his veins.

“How do you know all this?”

“I will show you” Yugyeom smirked before jumping up causing Jinyoung to shout in shock. Jinyoung watched as Yugyeom soared high off the ground and turns into a flash of white light that blinds Jinyoung. The moment his eyes open Jinyoung was greeted with a white dove flapping its wings to lower itself to Jinyoung’s level. It coos a familiar melody that Jinyoung is so familiar of. It coos the melody that he had repeated to all the doves he had encountered in these forests.

“You are a dove” Jinyoung breathed, feeling completely unbelieving. “You warned me of the guards”

The dove flies into the sky and swoops towards the ground into a flash of white light that landed on the ground with a small thud. Yugyeom who was squatting from his transformation smiled at him as he stood up.

“What are you?” Jinyoung said. His dagger lowered again. His voice was shaking from the thrill of the magical display shown to him. He was in awe and all the same terrified in what Yugyeom meant.

“The forest is guarded by shape shifting fairies that could shape shift into small animals. I am one of the many that guard the enchanted forest”

“So fairies granted my mother’s wish?”

Yugyeom shakes his head. “No. The enchanted forest granted you not only your life but also the special gifts that reside in you”

“The whistling?”

Yugyeom nodded. “The forest recognizes you as its ally”

“But why are you helping me?”

“A dark time has fallen on the forest ever since the Evil Queen took over the kingdom. I think you are the key to her defeat”

Jinyoung blinked at Yugyeom. What Yugyeom was implying seemed impossible but it put a burning desire to fight in him. “How are you so sure?”

“Magic” Yugyeom smirked cheekily. “Now, we have to disguise you so no one will recognize you”

“Wait, what?”

“Trust me!”

Yugyeom holds his arm and immediately Jinyoung feels like screaming. The warm hand Yugyeom had on him seared his skin and Jinyoung took one look and realized that Yugyeom wasn’t just holding him from running away. He felt as if his world spun as he felt light on his feet, his whole body tingling. A surge of warmth washes over him before clarity in his vision presented himself and Yugyeom was no longer holding him.

Yugyeom has a bright smile on his face seemingly very satisfied with himself.

Jinyoung looked at his hands where Yugyeom had burned him, expecting to see a red burning hand print on his skin. However his skin was still as pale as ever. Almost too pale.

Jinyoung stared at the delicate fingers that were moving according to his commands but it felt strangely foreign. _Why am I looking at girl hands?_

“It’s the perfect disguise” Yugyeom smirked.

Jinyoung scrutinized the younger in front of him when realization dawned on him. “What have you done to me?”

Jinyoung frantically touched his face and felt smooth skin as contrast to his usual scruff. He let out a gasp at the feeling of his chest which was now full grown breast and his once dirty garments of clothes now changed into a maiden’s clothing.

“I’m a girl?” Jinyoung feels strange at the echo of his slightly higher pitch voice. It wasn’t unlike his own soft mellow one but it was definitely not as low. He runs to the frozen river, wiping of the snow and watches his reflection in the ice.

He still looked distinctively like himself; brown eyes, soft nose and red lips. His jaw line was distinctively sharp and wide despite somehow managing to seem feminine; his black hair had grown slightly longer and fluffier.

“This way the queen will never know you are Jinyoung” Yugyeom explain when Jinyoung finally let it sink in. “When the time is right the spell will break and it will save you from the harm of the queen”

“How am I going to save the kingdom if they do not recognize me as their prince?”

“I will help you. I promise” Yugyeom assures.

Jinyoung nodded, simply overwhelmed to even comprehend anymore information.

“Now we must get you to safety” Yugyeom announced before jumping into the sky turning into a dove. He coos towards Jinyoung to follow before flying away. Jinyoung once again blindly follows the help he is given deeper into the forest.

 

-o0o-

 

It is quite walk before Jinyoung follows Yugyeom into a clearing and all Jinyoung could see were white snow that covered the grounds. The temperature was dropping fast and Jinyoung could feel the ends of his dress chill his legs due to its dampness. Jinyoung was hungry and exhausted. He would give a lot for a simple change of clothes and some warm food.

Yugyeom swooped particularly low to catch Jinyoung’s attention and stopped at a short shrub. Jinyoung looked behind the white dove and saw what Yugyeom was trying to show him.

It was small wooden cottage which seemed old. Jinyoung excitable ran towards it, eager to find any source of warmth. He could hard feel his fingers as he wiped the dusty window to look into the cottage. It was empty.

Yugyeom perched himself on a bird house next to the door and cooed to get Jinyoung’s attention.

Jinyoung knocked the door feeling dumb. He knew it was empty. The door however pushed open as Jinyoung set his fist on it.

“Hello?” Jinyoung called out experimentally. He looked around to see the messy contents of the house and felt slightly uncomfortable. He was entering the house of a stranger; a messy stranger at that.

Jinyoung walked towards the fire place and immediately starts a fire for himself. He lets out a satisfied moan at the warmth that quickly filled the small living room. Jinyoung looked out towards the bird house and found that Yugyeom had gone. He was left to his own devices.

“Might as well clean” he mumbled as he starts picking up the dirty dishes on the floor to bring it over to the overfilled sink. “Maybe they will let me stay for a night if I clean”

 

-o0o-

 

“This is ridiculous. She ate my pie”

“But she cleaned the whole house we might need her”

“She might work for the castle and send us to jail!”

“She might be running from the kingdom like us. She might need our help!”

“SHE ATE MY PIE!”

Jinyoung’s eye flutter open to see four men huddled around the fireplace a little distance from where she was sleeping on the floor, in front of the fire.

“She’s awake!” a loud voice filled the small cottage and Jinyoung was greeted by a huge smile and shining eyes. “Hi!”

Jinyoung rubbed the sleep away from his eyes, sitting up, ignoring the dull pain in his back from the uncomfortable floor he had been sleeping in. He then looked at the one who had greeted him and smiled.

“Hi” Jinyoung chirped. He then looked at the other faces of the people looking at him and studied them. He stared at their black blotched clothing and instantly knew that they worked in a coal mine. He had seen those identical blotches before. He had seen them on Mark.

_Mark?_

At first, Jinyoung thinks that he was dreaming when he saw Mark looking at him with furrowed eyebrows and an angry pout. There was not a trace of familiarity to his face that Jinyoung knew. It wasn’t playful or warm but rather cold and stern. Then, Jinyoung realizes that he was a girl right now. There was no way Mark would recognize him.

“What brings a beautiful girl like you into our house?” Jinyoung moves his eyes to look at the shortest of the lot. His smile was adorable and he squats on the ground to be eye level with him.

“I’m sorry” Jinyoung stuttered at the sudden closeness, jumping to his feet to get away. “The door wasn’t closed and I was freezing”

“YOU ATE MY PIE” The other one besides Mark grumbled.

“Ignore him. I bet you were hungry and freezing!” said the one that was invading his personal space. “What’s your name?”

Jinyoung’s mind stutters. He couldn’t say his name was Jinyoung. Mark would immediately catch on. His eyes catch the glimmer of a snowflake fall on the ground outside and realized what his name would be. “Snow” he whispered. “Snow White”

It was the name his father would have given him if she was born a girl. And now, that he was. It was only fitting.

“Snow...” the shortest smiled. “Well, I’m Jackson”

“Hello, Jackson”

Jackson lets out a shrill of excitement at him calling out his name. “These are my brothers. Mr. All-smiles over there is Youngjae. He is a bit shy but I can tell he likes you already”

Youngjae simpered, hiding his face by turning away.

“Mr. Pie-rage is Bambam and Mr. Grumpy is Mark”

Jinyoung offered a smile which both of them seem to ignore. Jinyoung feels his heart falter at the cold treatment from Mark.

“I’m sorry to intrude” Jinyoung apologized. “But I have nowhere to go and I lost my stead. If you could let me stay for the night I would be eternally grateful” he looked at all of them expectantly, hoping his plea was heard. “I’ll be out of your hair in the morning”

“And where will you go in the morning?” Bambam asked. His expression seemed to soften significantly.

“I’m not sure” Jinyoung confesses. “I haven’t thought about it”

“Well, what can you do?” Jackson smiled, a cheeky expression covering his face. “Obviously you can clean” he said glancing around the already clean cottage.

“I can cook” Jinyoung replied.

“Well, that’s settle then. You are hired. Cook and clean in exchange for shelter over your head”

Jinyoung blinked at Jackson.

“And don’t worry about them. They won’t harm you. I’ll make sure of it” Jackson said, flexing his biceps which Mark rolled his eyes to.

“Thank you” Jinyoung bowed. When he looked up he saw Mark looking straight into his eyes and for a moment Jinyoung felt bare. As though, Mark could see right through him. As though, he knew underneath all the disguise, it was Jinyoung. The room seemed to go silent for a moment as they stare at each other but it was broken when Jackson clears his throat.

Just like that their eye contact broke and Mark dashes upstairs, slamming the door on his exit.

“Don’t mind him. He just got his heart broken” Jackson sighed.

_Heartbroken?_

“You can sleep in my room. I’ll bunk in with Mark.” Jackson said, catching his hand into his own, dragging him across the living room. Jinyoung followed Jackson, trying to pry his mind away from the upstairs room in which Mark had fled.

It was either very lucky that he had ended up at Mark’s house, or very unlucky.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello. i hope you enjoyed this chapter. Merry Christmas everybody!


	4. What will it take to show you that it's not the life it seems?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One by one things are revealed to Jinyoung

Chapter 4:What will it take to show you that it's not the life it seems?

 

Jinyoung wakes up to an empty house at the break of sunrise. The night had gone by fast as exhaustion hit him; slumping him into Jackson’s bed faster than anything else. He scans the inside of Jackson’s and Bambam’s room and realized that there was a fresh change of clothes laid out on the other bed. He changed into it and ignored how baggy it felt as comparison to the tight dress he had been wearing. The clothes were male clothing and even though Jinyoung was used to men’s clothing rather than the dress Yugyeom had enchanted him with, it was scratchy and rigid. It was nothing like the soft material of his usual prince garments.

He puts them on regardless, including the large cloak. He then scans the scattered room, picking up the dirty dishes on the floor. He reminds himself to clean the rooms later and heads out to find bread set out neatly on the dining table.

He had skipped dinner last night as he fell asleep and couldn’t help but gobble down the bread as fast as his mouth allowed him to.

“How ladylike”

Jinyoung falls off the chair as Yugyeom’s laughed at him.

“What are you doing here?” Jinyoung cried, still trying to calm the shock out of his system.

“I could just leave” Yugyeom chuckled, turning towards the exit slowly. Jinyoung watched his charades for a moment before he realized that he didn’t really want to spend his day alone.

“No don’t!”

“I thought so” Yugyeom chided, clearly expecting protest from Jinyoung. “Like the house?”

“YOU!” Jinyoung scolded realizing from Yugyeom’s cocked eyebrow and sneaky smirk that he had planned this all along. “You knew how awkward it would be for me to live with Mark! You knew he lived here!”

Yugyeom laughed loudly, clearly enjoying himself as he continuously smacked his thigh in time with the roar of his laughter.

“It’s not funny” Jinyoung pouted.

“I thought you would love it” Yugyeom said, wiping the tears of happiness that had left his eyes, the remnants of laughter still making him hiccup his speech. “You get to be close to him”

_But he doesn’t know it’s me._

Yugyeom looked at him as Jinyoung’s thoughts form as thought he could hear it.

“I’ll be doomed if he finds out” Jinyoung said sulkily.

“But he won’t. You’re disguise is pretty convincing”

Jinyoung sighed. “You’re right. He wouldn’t find out”

Yugyeom nodded, seeming to know more than he lets on.

“If you have eaten, I have a few things to tell you” he announced the moment the last of the bread in Jinyoung’s plate enters his mouth.

“The queen will still have ways to find you. Even if she doesn’t find you, you will still remain a threat to her”

“Why would she find me a threat? As Snow White, I am nothing but a peasant.”

“I wouldn’t know exactly but if I’m right, she wouldn’t need to know who you are to pin you as her threat”

 “How could she find me if she doesn’t know what she is looking for”

“Her magic. It is only a matter of time before she realizes that you are the only thing in her way of ascending to the throne” Yugyeom said gravely. “That’s why I have to train you”

“Train me for combat? I’ve been trained by swordsman. I know how to swing a sword” Jinyoung stared at Yugyeom in utter confusion. What sort of training would he possibly be able to gain from Yugyeom?

“You are going to need more than a sword to fight black magic, Jinyoung”

 Jinyoung swallowed, closing his eyes as he was reminded of his graze with death as the queen choked him. It had made him so helpless. He had nothing but a knock on the door that had saved him.

_I don’t stand a chance._

“Jinyoung” Yugyeom called, snapping him out of the cold of his thoughts. “We will fight her together. I’m sure she won’t stand a chance once I brush your gift”

Jinyoung squints at Yugyeom. He had tried to focus on everything Yugyeom was telling him but Yugyeom had addressed him with only his name and it caused an irritation in him. Yugyeom knew he was the prince and rightfully, he should be addressed as such. No one can call him Jinyoung unless he allows it.

_Mark can call me Jinyoung all he wants._

Yugyeom scowls before fake vomiting. “Ew” he groans.

 

Jinyoung scrutinized the other. The reaction had come out of nowhere as though as he had just heard what Jinyoung had thought of. Jinyoung sighed aloud. He should have known better.

“You can hear my thoughts, can’t you?”

He had an inkling that Yugyeom could read his mind. He had responded to his thoughts more than once but the need for confirmation hadn’t been this strong. He is half on his mind to hit the other for his disrespect of his privacy, but also half on the thought of just letting it go. The other was helping him and even though he was a disrespectful child, Jinyoung knows better than to do anything ungrateful. Not that he might restrain himself if Yugyeom crossed lines.

“Yes and your thoughts are disgusting. All you think of is Mark. Ew!”

Jinyoung rolled his eyes, trying really hard to mask his obvious embarrassment. It wasn’t everyday someone read his mind, especially his very private thoughts.

“Get out of my head!” he warned before quickly forcing a topic change by adding, “So if I can’t use swords then what can I do?”

“The enchanted forest blessed you with special gifts. Some of which you have no problem mastering like your whistling”

“So there is more?”

“I don’t know exactly what it would be. But I could feel how different your energy is in comparison to normal humans. You are gifted, Jinyoung. You just need a little help”

Jinyoung felt his heart sank at the overly confident smile on Yugyeom’s face. He hoped that confidence was enough for the both of them because he obviously had none.

 

-o0o-

 

“Focus your thoughts on your surroundings” Yugyeom’s voice echoed in his mind as he tried hard to concentrate. They have been at it for hours but Jinyoung is convinced that he could only call birds at this point.

“This isn’t about you Jinyoung. It’s about your surroundings. It’s about the forest helping you get what you want”

Jinyoung focuses on the apple Yugyeom had set on the tree stump. Yugyeom had somehow convinced him he could move it with the power of his concentration. He isn’t so convinced anymore. He was starting to feel light-headed from focusing too hard.

_Come on, help me._

Just as Jinyoung is about to give up he feels his body tingling and he saw the tree stump start to grow a stem in amazing speed. A leaf grew from that stem and it swung as it grew. Eventually the leaf was bigger than the apple and the apple rolled off the stump as it was hit by the leaf. The swing of the stem was soft but enough to roll the apple to the ground.

“That was amazing!” Jinyoung cried.

Yugyeom however looked unimpressed, the lines on his face deep. “It’s not fast enough though”

“There is a lot of work to do” he smirked nastily then earned a groan from Jinyoung.

“Again!” Yugyeom shouts, grabbing the apple of the ground and placing it where it belonged.

 

-o0o-

 

“So, before the sun sets and the boys come back, there is something I want to tell you” Yugyeom said, taking a bite into the apple Jinyoung had spent the whole day trying to move. Jinyoung groans in acknowledgement barely moving his body from the ground that he had decided to lay on. Magic was tiring. His efforts into summoning his magic were near to futile and he has never felt so drained.

“The spell that I cast to disguise you is the protection you have from the Queen. As long as you remain under it, she cannot harm you”

“But you said she would still find me as a threat even as Snow White. So, under the spell she cannot harm me but she will still try?”

“Yes” Yugyeom said gravely. “And she will find a way to kill you”

“Even if she doesn’t know who I truly am? Even if she doesn’t know I am Jinyoung? She would still try to kill me?”

“True” Yugyeom looked at Jinyoung with a serious expression.

“Then what is the point of the disguise?” Jinyoung exasperated. He felt frustrated. The Queen was too strong as his undeveloped gift only left him feeling helpless. He could try but the queen was too far ahead. _What was the use of anything?_

“The Queen has black magic that is far more complex and in ways that even I don’t understand, your disguise is what will protect you. It is your strongest weapon against her and it is the best I can do to help you when she finally finds you” Yugyeom eyes flickers with determination and it breathes in a new mix of emotions within Jinyoung. The way he spoke with confidence made Jinyoung feel something he had left at the castle. The way he spoke made him feel hopeful.

“How are you so sure she will find me?” Jinyoung stammered.

“You aren’t the only one the forest blessed with gifts, Jinyoung” Yugyeom smirked, taking his time with pronouncing Jinyoung’s name, purposely trying to irk him. Jinyoung rolled his eyes, refusing to give in into irritation. Yugyeom was doing it purposely and he simply refused to let Yugyeom win.

“Can you see the future or something?”

“I can’t see clear images. I just get vibes and my instincts just somehow knows what is going to happen,” Yugyeom holds a hand for Jinyoung to hoist himself up off the floor. “It’s how I knew where you were when you ran. Its how I knew you were dying”

Something grave passes through Yugyeom’s face and Jinyoung felt a chill past his body. For a moment he wonders what kind of things Yugyeom had seen and just how long those things haunt him. But he quickly hushes his thoughts just in case Yugyeom catches it.

“You should go back. You need to feed four very hungry boys” Yugyeom jumped into the air and turns into his dove form. Jinyoung tried not to stare at the silhouette of dove Yugyeom flying into the sky. Yugyeom left a bit hastily once again.

Jinyoung sighed as he adjusts the overly baggy clothing Jackson had given him on his small frame feeling slightly unlike himself. His world was upside down. Just two days ago he was reading in the quiet castle library. Today, he was a girl in men’s clothing, exhausted of trying to shove an apple to the ground using the power of his brain.

 

-o0o-

 

Jinyoung hums to himself as he stirs the soup he had on the stove. He is grateful that he had spent some time in the royal kitchen, watching his servants cook. It wasn’t long before he had tried his hand at it, feeling curious. It was a short lived hobby that he had to fill in his days stuck in the graying castle.

“You sing”

Jinyoung nearly drops the plate he was trying to set on the table. His eyes rake the room to see Mark standing in the door way looking at him with wide big round eyes.

_Oh shit. Was I singing something familiar?_

Jinyoung clears his throat rather loudly before allowing himself to speak. “I made soup. Are the others coming?”

Mark seemed to snap out of his trance; his eyes adjusting to the floor, fumbling with his tool bag. “They’ll arrive shortly” he mumbled before quickly climbing the stairs to his room.

And as if on cue, Jackson’s head peeps through the room with a wide smile.

“I smell dinner” he squealed. An echo of excited squeals followed then Youngjae and Bambam were rushing through the door. The boys were obviously hungry and Jinyoung sits himself on the bucket chair he had set for himself. It was slightly short than the other chairs but the dining table was meant for 4 and he didn’t want to impose. He was a guest in the house and he couldn’t possibly trouble them further.

“Is it mushroom soup?” Youngjae asked smelling the bowl set in front of him. “I haven’t had these since I’ve left the village”

Bambam grabbed some bread and let a pleasant hum as he ate his soup.

“Where did you get the mushrooms, Snow?”

“I picked them in the forest” he said. He had actually tested his whistling skills and found that the birds would bring him stuff is he concentrated while whistling. It was how he had obtained mushrooms and herbs. The soup was cooked according to the castle’s recipe. It was Jinyoung’s favorite comfort food. The smell alone made him feel warm like the temporary comfort it used to bring.

“This is delicious!” Jackson squealed. “Are you magic or something!”

Jinyoung choked on his soup.

“It’s too bad Mark isn’t eating his portion. Can I have it?” Jackson asked, unfazed at how choked up Jinyoung was getting.

“That’s not fair! I want it!” Bambam protested.

“It’s ok, boys. There is plenty to go around” Jinyoung stands to pick up the pot of warm soup on the counter. “There is enough for at least 3 helpings each. I thought you guys might be hungry”

The boys looked at him as though they had seen an angel. Their eyes were wide and mouths agape with amazement. Jinyoung quickly felt flustered with all the attention on him.

“I think I should try and get Mark” he mumbled trying to escape but soon he realized he was clambering the steps to his potential doom.

He didn’t know if he wanted to talk to Mark. Mark didn’t know who he was but it was obvious from the start that there was tension. Jinyoung can’t name it but he was pretty sure he was tense on the thought that he could slip up at any moment. At any moment, he could say something and Mark might know who he was.

But it was impossible.

Jinyoung was not who he was now. He was Snow White. He was a girl with skin white as snow, lips red as blood and hair dark as night. Nothing like the Jinyoung Mark knew.

“Mark?” Jinyoung knocked hesitantly. He could still hear the boys rumbling downstairs but inside the room there was nothing but silence.

“Mark?” he knocked again. “Dinner is going to get cold”

“I’m not hungry” a voice replied. It sounded like it was muffled by pillows.

Jinyoung sighed; stumped. _Why was Mark being so difficult?_

He slowly left the room, returning to his seat amidst the bustling of the boys fighting for the last piece of bread. Jinyoung didn’t feel like eating when he saw the untouched bowl of soup that had been left for Mark.

 

 -o0o-

 

It was bone chilling cold. Jinyoung has the thick cloak Jackson had given him wrapped snugly around his body yet it was not enough. He had warm tea in a mug which was quickly turning cold under the unforgiving weather. It was the dead of night and the only light that shined through the forest was the moon and its accompanying stars.

Jinyoung had trouble sleeping and had decided to slip out to star gaze. It was a bad idea. In the castle, he could star gaze from his window inside the warmth of his own room but here he had to sit in the winter night on a makeshift stool. As if on cue, Jinyoung saw a silhouette of a bird (a dove to be specific) flying towards him. Jinyoung barely had to look to know Yugyeom was turning into a flash of light becoming a tall, lanky figure with dark brown locks and soft features.

“Couldn’t sleep?”

Jinyoung looked up at the boy and wondered how Yugyeom knew he was sitting in the cold. If Yugyeom read his mind he didn’t bother to respond to it. He seemed to find his answer anyway.

“I forgot to tell you something important about the spell”

“What spell?” Jinyoung asked lazily, feeling a little too tired to respond with too much urgency. He was exhausted but sleep simply wouldn’t invite him.

“Your protection spell; the spell that disguises you,” Yugyeom panted. Warm breath causing puffs of smoke to leave his mouth. “If anyone finds out who you really are, the spell is broken”

Jinyoung lets the information sink in for a moment. It was really nothing to worry about. Jackson, Youngjae and Bambam had no idea who he was before he was Snow. Mark, however, posed a problem.

“So Mark can’t know”

Yugyeom nodded firmly.

“It’s alright. He wouldn’t believe me even if I told him. He doesn’t believe in magic”

Mark was a sore spot for Jinyoung at the moment. He knew it was unfair that he felt angry that Mark didn’t care about him. Mark hadn’t even spared a glance to him. Mark had bluntly tried his best to ignore him. It hurt him when it shouldn’t have because he wasn’t Jinyoung. He was Snow and Mark knows nothing of Snow.

And yet, the thought of how cold Mark was towards him makes his heart feel like it was stabbed.

_How ridiculous._

“Aww, you’re sulking because he doesn’t recognize you!”

“YAH! YUGYEOM! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!” Jinyoung jumped off the stool to charge at Yugyeom but Yugyeom jumps and the next second he flies off as a dove.

“Who are you shouting to?”

Jinyoung turns his head, body still frozen from where he was cursing Yugyeom to see Mark at the door frame.

_Oh shit, did I get caught?_

Jinyoung closes his mouth that had been hanging ajar from shock and adjusted himself. He cleared his throat loudly as he tried to formulate an answer.

“No one” Jinyoung mumbled. “Couldn’t sleep?”

Mark seemed to shift from where he stood, impishly scratching the back of his head.

“You hungry?” Jinyoung said realizing that Mark had probably been rummaging the kitchen. He nodded hesitantly and Jinyoung had to look away from the blush on his cheeks to control his exploding heart.

_When did he get so cute?_

“I’ll heat up some of the soup if you want”

Mark smiled as he nodded and Jinyoung was too far gone, he almost walked straight into the closed kitchen door.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry this is taking so long to finish. When i took up this prompt i wanted to challege myself out of writing angst. and this is a challenge for me! haha. well, now i suffer. i'm having a hard time with proof reading so if you see any mistake be forgiving. 
> 
> anyway, come talk to me on [tumblr](http://gotsichi7.tumblr.com/). i write fics there too.


	5. You should've raised a baby girl, I should've been a better son.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark is haunted.

You should've raised a baby girl, I should've been a better son.

 

Mark sets his pickaxe into his tool bag and momentarily stared at the mess of his brothers sleeping in their cramped room. Bambam was on his bed, sleeping straight, unnaturally still. Youngjae and Jackson are cuddled on Youngjae’s bed or rather Youngjae was sleeping on his side and Jackson was hugging him so tightly that Mark was slightly worried, for Youngjae’s sake. Mark hadn’t been able to get any sleep and as soon as the sun began to peak, just enough for light to emit through his windows he was up, changing into his mining clothes, waiting for it to become bright enough to wake his brothers. He sat at the window, watching the forest awaken with sounds of birds and wild animals.

Just as he was about to turn away, he heard the front door open. Snow White walked out, in a thick cloak Mark knew was Jackson’s. Mark watched as she stretched, one hand still holding a mug of warm tea. Mark can hear her singing and whistling in a melodic voice, birds begin to crowd her. The events that unfold seem awfully familiar and Mark’s heart beats painfully in his chest.

Snow White reminded him of Jinyoung.

Or Prince Jinyoung, or whoever that lying bastard was supposed to be.

Mark grimaced. Jinyoung was a memory he wanted to erase. A memory of how his heart had fallen for a deceiving man who sang and looked like an angel. Jinyoung was beautiful. His smooth fair skin was a stark contrast to his dark hair and full red lips. It wasn’t just his beauty that had caught his attention; it was the way Jinyoung thought. It was the way he read to widen his horizons and the way he talked about what he read. It was the way the world fascinated Jinyoung that fascinated him.

But in the end, it all didn’t matter because Mark was blinded by his beauty to even notice he was lied to. How could he not know what the Prince of the Kingdom looked like? He was an idiot.

His eyes creep to the singing figure by the tree in front of their house. The dark locks of her hair fell short on her shoulders and the fair skin that was showing out of her short sleeves was almost glowing as the shy sunlight hit her complexion. She was beautiful and she sang and she cooks and she saw Mark with kind eyes no matter how harsh Mark was to her.

Alright, that was probably Mark’s fault. The moment he had saw Snow White sleeping in their house the first thought that had entered his mind was Jinyoung. And every moment after all he could think of was Jinyoung.

_Jinyoung, Jinyoung, Jinyoung…_

Mark ruffled his hair in frustration. He clenched his fist and immediately started kicking the side of the beds in the room. “Wake up! Wake up!”

He scream and shouted in rage as his brothers woke up feeling either really pissed (Bambam) or really scared (Youngjae).

“Chill, man” Jackson cooed, caging Mark in his strong arms. Jackson hair sticking out in places from sleep and his eyes still mostly closed as he evelopes Mark’s in his hands. His tone wasn’t threatening but rather tired and a hint of understanding. Mark didn’t stand a chance. “We are up”

Mark looked at Jackson’s large brown eyes and immediately felt shame. His rage dissipated and all that was left was remorse.  
 

“Go get breakfast, cranky grandpa”

 

-o0o-

 

Mark sighed when he saw his house. Jackson had forced him to go back home because he was spacing out too much and causing trouble at work. His thoughts were simply too far away from him too catch today. He was too lost in his thoughts that he couldn’t seem to comprehend what was going on in reality. Thus, he had somehow ended up walking aimlessly into the forest.

He made a few stops. One, to the clearing he had intended to show to Jinyoung that day when Jinyoung had been carried away by the castle guards. There was an apple tree in the middle of the clearing, where Mark had spent the summer, playing with wild flowers. He had a fond memory of his father bringing him there when he was around. His siblings being too young for his father too bring them. So it was just him and the birds and insects that he chases around. His father casting a watchful eye over him playing as he sharpened his mining tools.

He had also paid the hawthorn tree a visit. It was where he had first found Jinyoung. He was singing to birds blissfully unaware of Mark watching him. Mark had intended to go into town to buy supplies for the house, when he heard the sound of Jinyoung singing an unfamiliar tune. He was immediately mesmerized. The way Jinyoung had shifted when he was caught had alarmed Mark; the shift in his weight that made him look awkward but also strangely adorable. He had went home that day with no supplies and a stolen heart.

 It was the place Mark had spent his whole autumn, waiting for Jinyoung to appear. He waited without ever knowing if Jinyoung would appear. He waited for the smile on Jinyoung’s face when he saw Mark waiting for him. Then when it got too dark, Jinyoung would disappear to his mysterious world. Or rather the once mysterious world which turned out to consists of royalty. Mark was an idiot.

He passed by the tree in which he had hid while he watched the guard mock Jinyoung. He remembers what it felt like to be kicked into with armored boots and the sound of Jinyoung shouting for them to stop. He remembered the sharp apology Jinyoung had offered him before he had left. He remembered slumping into the ground, feeling nothing but betrayal burn in his chest.

He had been nothing but honest with Jinyoung but Jinyoung could barely tell him who he was.

“You’re back”

Mark snapped out of the train of his thought. Snow White was looking at him with a bright smile etched on her face. She carried a big basket of apples, donning Jackson’s ridiculously large cloak.

“Where did you go?” Mark croaked. He crossed his arms looking at anywhere but directly at Snow. She seemed to flail around for a moment, seemingly flustered by the question.

It takes a moment but soon she raises the basket.

“I went to get some apples” she smiled.

It was something about the way she handled herself that made Mark thinks of the one thing he didn’t want to. _Jinyoung…_

 “Why are you back so early?” her voice echoed above the silent sounds of the forest, her words precise despite her uncertain posture. “Are you sick?”

Mark looked at her approaching him and tries his best to not flinch away. His eyes scanned Snow’s features as she approached him. He watched her dark brown eyes and bright red lips. The darkness of her hair was a stark contrast to her fair skin. A voice he knew all too well echoed in his head.

_A daughter who had skin white as snow, lips red as blood and hair black as night_

Mark doesn’t know how he managed to do it but suddenly, Snow was on the ground looking at Mark with a mix of hurt and confusion. Mark had pushed her to the ground as he was too caught up in his thoughts. He had once again hurt Snow because Jinyoung was haunting him.

“I’m sorry” Mark stammered but Snow simply picks herself up and fluffs her dress.

“It’s ok. I shouldn’t have come so close” she smiled and Mark could see it didn’t reach her eyes.

-o0o-

Mark can’t sleep.

Thoughts of how he had pushed a girl to the ground because of how eerily similar she was to Jinyoung was haunting him. Jinyoung was haunting him. He wondered about where Jinyoung was. He wondered whether Jinyoung was ok. He wondered if the queen had punished him for sneaking out.

He wondered whether he was the only one losing his mind because all he could do was think of him.

_He obviously isn’t thinking of you._

A dull pain courses through his chest as he picks up a warm blanket from the closet and decided to make some warm tea for himself. He glances at the figure of his three brothers sleeping and feels mildly jealous of the peace he lacks in his mind.

There is hot tea already brewing when he arrives in the kitchen. Mark should have known Snow White would be awake. It doesn’t seem like she could sleep either. Well, all the nights he had been creeping out of bed, he had bumped into Snow. And surely enough, Mark could see her looking into the sky with a glint of admiration. A cup clasped securely between her fingers.

He had caught Snow outside the house in the night more than once. So really he should have known.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Mark hears his voice break the icy air. The blanket that covered him wasn’t enough for these cruel temperatures. Snow turned to him in shock for a millisecond before relaxing at the knowledge of who it was.

“I didn’t want to miss the stars” she said. Her voice was barely a whisper. “In winter the skies are clearer”

Mark clasped his own cup of tea in his hands hoping it was enough as a heat source. He sits on the door step, watching Snow as she kept her eyes on the sky.

“I wish I could read the stars. I read about the star charts and I could name constellations but when I look at the sky all I see is stars” Snow said, hot breath making fog leave her mouth. “I wish I had read more on them”

“You read?”

Snow looked at Mark and for a second she looked like she had said too much. But she fixes herself with a shallow cough and said, “Sometimes, I do. You couldn’t sleep? Are you hungry?”

“No” Mark said a little too quickly. Snow would rush to his care so fast if he was. She was like the mother figure he had never had. “I just wanted some tea” he said, raising his mug.

Her mouth curved into a small smile before her eyes finds itself back at the stars in the dark night sky. They share a small silence that makes Mark’s stomach curl at the familiarity. If he closed his eyes he could pretend it was Jinyoung sitting next to him but that sounds insane because Snow was a woman.

And Jinyoung was a man.

They are not the same person.

“Mark”

His whole body tensing as he pretends to be calm by sipping his hot tea. It was scalding hot but he plays it off like it was nothing. “What is it?”

“Do you hate me?”

Mark choked on his tea. “What makes you say that?”

Snow looked at him and without even saying a word; Mark could tell what she meant. It’s pretty obvious isn’t it?

“I don’t hate you” Mark defends. He really doesn’t after all. “I’m just weird at the moment. It is something I rather not discuss”

Snow looked at her dirty feet which she swung in a rhythmic pattern as if it would calm her nerves. A flash of his memories remind him that Jinyoung did the exact same thing when he wanted to say something but was simply too nervous.

_Stop thinking about him_

“If you feel you need me to keep my distance, I would” she said. Her eyes still stuck to the motion of her swinging feet, not even meeting Mark’s eyes. A hint of hurt laced into her tone, though she was obviously trying her best to conceal it.

Mark dwells with the guilt that was heavy in his heart alone, watching as Snow stopped looking at her bare feet and back again at the sky, the glint of admiration Mark had seen just a second ago faded. It was still there, just not as shiny.

-o0o-

“What happened between the both of you?” Jackson voice invited silence at the dinner table. They were eating dinner and everyone was digging into the food Snow had worked so hard to cook until Jackson had to open his mouth and made everyone freeze.

Mark shifted in his seat. Snow was fussing over the small portion Mark had taken for himself and was force feeding him. It was a stark difference to the once ‘avoid her all you can’ drama that Mark had somehow willed upon himself.

“What do you mean what has happened?” Snow sings, finding her way back to her seat within seconds. “There is nothing odd”

Jackson squints at the both of them. Then his eyes meet Bambam and Youngjae who were trying to stay out of the whole issue. At least Youngjae was, Bambam was busy trying to steal the rest of the bread for himself (he didn’t manage to because Snow had swatted his hand away).

“You guys do seem _closer_ than usual” Youngjae said carefully. _Bless his soul for being so considerate of everyone’s feelings._

Mark watches the way Snow shakes nervously, her feet probably swinging or tapping her nerves away. So maybe he had been trying to be extra nice to Snow. He felt bad about all the misconceptions he had caused Snow to feel and wanted to make up for it. Maybe he had spent a lot of time under the starry night listening to Snow talk about stars. Maybe they have spent a bit of time in the early mornings watching the stars vanish as the sun rises. Maybe he was tumbling down into a pit he didn’t want to fall into.

“It’s nothing, Jackson.” Mark said sternly. Suddenly, feeling himself fall into a pit of his own thoughts again. “Drop it”

Jackson’s mouth opened for a moment as if he wanted to protest but Mark could see Snow shaking his head from the corner of his eyes. And his mouth falls shut.

-o0o-

“I’m sorry about Jackson”

Snow looked up at him for a moment before resuming to the sky. Her attention was apt on the glow of constellations with one hand tapping her knee and the other holding her tea.

“Why are you apologizing to me?” she said softly, soft chuckles sneaking between her words. “I was only afraid you would snap his neck”

Mark laughed but didn’t comment further. He sat down wishing he could paint the way Snow looked at the stars. The look in her eye no longer faded.

-o0o-

“It’s been a week since you guys have let me stayed at your house” Snow chimed as they hiked to the spot they usually watched the sunset. Snow led the way with such ease. It was almost like she was one with her surroundings.

“Yeah, it’s been a week since I’ve been sharing a bed with Bambam”

Snow looked apologetic for a second but Mark immediately raised his hands. “Please don’t” he warned. An expression of mild shock passes by Snow’s feature but it’s quickly turned into a smile.

“It feels like I’ve known you all my life” she says quietly almost as if she was afraid Mark could hear her but her voice cut through the rustling of the branches clearly. Mark could hear her loud and clear and he didn’t know why his heart felt dread.

_She would betray you. Just like Jinyoung did. You aren’t fit to be loved._

Mark shakes the words off as they reach their little spot. It was at the edge of a cliff and big rocks decorated the place, providing them seating. Snow had found it and had quickly invited Mark.

They settle down in the semi darkness, Snow snuggling herself into her cloak and Mark rubbing his hands together. There was a tension in the air that Mark hadn’t felt before. A shift in the way Snow was carrying herself that made Mark feel like she had something important to say; something that would make or break him.

“Have you ever been in love?”

Mark stared at Snow with wide eyes. She wasn’t looking at him but rather at the grass beneath her feet. Her hands were tapping her knees again.

“I’m not sure about it but I’ve read a lot about it” She said. Her eyes had finally found the courage to look Mark straight in the eye. The intensity she conveyed caused Mark to shy away almost immediately.

_This can’t be happening._

“The way the heart beats faster and you can’t sleep or you can’t eat and they are all you can think about. The way your heart breaks when you separate and the way you feel happy they are just there,”

“It feels like that when I’m with you” her eyes round and expecting and Mark could feel his life crashing before him. He could understand it all. He knew what it was like to fall in love. He knew what it felt like to watch the one he loved walk away. He had felt it all with Snow. The only problem was it was for all the wrong reasons.

Snow was almost alike to what Jinyoung was. Her red lips, white skin and dark hair; The way her eyes crinkled into crescents when she laughed, leaving lines of eye whiskers; The way she talked about the world like it was the most fascinating thing in the world and the way she thought so deeply about things as to show her attentiveness to her surroundings. It was almost the same. But the one difference remained that Snow was a lady, and Jinyoung was a man. Jinyoung was the one who had his heart and there was no way he could simply give it up.

Because even though a big part of him had fell in love with the way Snow looked into the sky, Mark had fell in love with her for all the wrong reasons. Mark was in love with her because he reminded Mark of him.

“I can’t do this” Mark blurted. “I just can’t”

He could hear Snow shouting for him to come back. But he had run faster than ever. Tears were in his eyes as he shouted and screamed in frustration. He ran and ran till his feet couldn’t bring him anymore.

He slumped to the ground in exhaustion. His breath labored and the sun rising to illuminate the once dark forest. He scanned his surroundings feeling his heart thump painfully in his chest when he realized where he was.

_The hawthorn tree_

Here he was pathetically crying over Jinyoung, naturally gravitating toward him like Jinyoung was the centre of his world and yet, Jinyoung was nowhere to be found. Jinyoung was in a castle, living the luxury life far away from Mark.

-o0o-

The dread of realizing something was very wrong hits Mark square in the face when Jackson comes running to him. They had made it to work as usual that morning. Jackson had made his way to town to buy ingredients while everyone else had headed back.

The first sign that something was wrong was that Snow was nowhere to be found. She wasn’t cooking in the kitchen nor was she washing in the garden.

The second sign was Jackson running towards him with a panicked expression. It was as though he had seen a ghost. He shoved a piece of parchment into Mark’s chest. His silence made it all so very unnerving. Jackson was almost never silent.

Mark started reading the parchment and immediately felt a cold chill run through his body. There was a picture of Snow White drawn on the piece of parchment with big bold letters that read; WANTED WITH REWARD.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is really late. i am truly sorry.   
> it's been quite a ride to write this. please tell me what you think. i strive on comments.


	6. You only hear the music when your heart begins to break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jinyoung is on a mission to prove he isn't Snow White to everyone, or rather to himself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some notes as a reminder or further explanation on some Magic things.  
> Firstly, Yugyeom's protection spell is the same spell that turned him into Snow White. The spell is broken if anyone knows Snow White is actually Jinyoung.  
> Secondly, Snow White can manipulate plants and command animals.  
> Other things that are worth noting, this fic is not historically accurate, so don't try to place a time or setting to it. lol.

You only hear the music when you’re heart begins to break

Jinyoung trudges on into the woods, feeling his blood boil. He was useless as a girl, sitting around waiting for the moment the queen will finally attack him. He had been working so hard on his magic to a point that even Yugyeom had an impressed glint in his eye. He could command the forest as he wished it. He could grow strong tree vines in a matter of seconds and call upon animals to his command. He at the very least has found it was always useful.

He had the oversized cloak Jackson had lent him on, the hood covering most of his face as he entered the city.

He blends himself into the crowd, something he had been used to from all the years of sneaking in and out of the castle. It felt strange for Jinyoung to walk in such a familiar place but everything within him felt foreign. The swish of his dress and his swift movements avoiding the crowd and hiding behind pillars that used to barely cover him which was now overly large. His body wasn’t his and as his light footsteps paces through the bustling of the town he felt vulnerable.

_Maybe he was doing the wrong thing._

He hides himself behind a wall when he spots the royal blue of the castle guard’s uniforms at the corner of his eye. He stalks them as they slowly move away from him making sure he was fully hidden. When they leave he scouts the area. He could see the castle from where he stood. The vine covered gate walls barely covered the high towers of the castle. It sat on a hill and the path that was paved to the entranced was designed so that whoever was making their way into the castle could be seen from the large decorative windows. Jinyoung had to climb the hill through the heavy bushes surrounding it in order to not be seen. It wasn’t something he wasn’t used to thanks to his regular visits to the forest and it was probably easier to do with his powers.  

He was about to leave his hiding spot when something caught his eye.

A picture of Snow White on parchment with bold letters reading ‘wanted with reward’ was sticking on the wall right in front of him. Jinyoung approached it, hoping for a better look. It was no mistake the picture clearly showed a picture of him and a description that read ‘wanted for treason a fair skinned girl who goes by the name Snow White’.

Jinyoung traces his finger over the picture trying to process the photo. The picture of Snow White was pretty and the description was accurately described his features but the more he looked at the photo the more he felt that Snow White wasn’t him. The way the curl of her short hair frame her miniscule face that was donned with her larger brown eyes, her full lips seemingly small in comparison to his lips. Snow White was essentially him but the more Jinyoung stared at the features the more he felt it wasn’t him.

_Skin as white as snow, lips as red as roses and hair as dark as night…_

 Jinyoung snaps himself out of his winding thoughts and realizes that the wanted poster was issued by the castle, meaning that it was ordered by the queen. Yugyeom was right. The queen still found him even with the disguise. The queen knew exactly what he looked like without even having to see him. Jinyoung feels his heart drop with dread as he stares at the picture. There is possibility that the queen might know who Snow White truly was but Yugyeom had said that no one could know he was Jinyoung, otherwise the spell would break. Meaning, Snow White was a wanted not because she was Jinyoung.

 

If he managed to walk through the castle, past all the guards to the queen’s chamber where she was most likely staying, she would know he was the enemy. She would know he was there to kill her.

_Let her know. Let her feel in whose hands she dies in._

Jinyoung wanted to end this once and for all. He was tired of being stepped on like he was worth nothing; pushed away and ignored whether it was the queen or Mark Tuan; whether he was Snow White or Jinyoung.  He was done.

His march towards the castle was with renewed purpose. His movement charged as he swung on vines that bent to his will up the hill, hands lifted as he concentrated on moving them and finally he reached the foot of the castle. The vines growing on the walls aid his climb as he lowers himself over the gate and onto the castle grounds, careful for any castle guards. The castle still looked exactly the same when he manages to climb his way in through an open window by the vines he had managed to manipulate. He hides behind long curtains when he heard castle maids scurrying towards his direction.

The corridors were becoming dark as daylight quickly dwindled which made it easier for Jinyoung to sneak towards the queen’s chambers. His heart was thumping loudly in his chest as he carefully snuck his way through the corridors, making sure there was almost no sound in his foot steps that would let him be found. He made his way towards the all too familiar grand corridor that leads to the queen’s chambers. The large portraits of previous kings and queens hung in decoration their judging eyes never ceasing to make Jinyoung feel their disappointment in him as the true heir, as if he wasn’t already feeling nauseous from the adrenaline and jitters pumping through his veins to meet his victory or more likely his demise.

The door to the queen’s chambers was tight shut and a castle guard stood in front of it. It was an indication that the queen was indeed in her chamber because the queen never went anywhere without her guards. He needed a plan and he needed one quick. Jinyoung couldn’t simply knock the guard out without making big enough of a ruckus to draw attention to himself. Maybe if he could lure the guard away from the door to his direction, he could bring leave the door unguarded and the sounds of their battle away from the queen’s ears. He could land a mean punch to his jaw and knock him out. Jinyoung knew he could deliver the blow effectively; he had been trained for it before. But how could he lure the guard towards him?

His eyes then fell upon a knight statue that stood at the very end of the corridor. It was far from where he stood but close to an open window. The guard could see the statue from where he stood and in order to get to the statue he needed to past where Jinyoung was hiding behind a pillar. Jinyoung could catch him in his path and knock him out. Hopefully, doing all of this very quietly. Now, all he needed was a distraction.

Jinyoung purses his wet lips together and lightly whistles, concentrating on calling for some friends. His low whistle summons a nightingale that appears through the open window and surges into the armor making the knight statue rattle as its wings and claws hit the metal surfaces within it. Jinyoung watches the guard who was idly standing guard wake at the noise.

The castle guard immediately runs towards the rattling armor. Jinyoung prepared himself for action as he watched the large guard run in his direction. With ease, Jinyoung lands a punch to his jaw that he and catches the unconscious guard before he hits the ground. Jinyoung pulled him towards a nearby cabinet and stuffs him in; hoping none of the castle staff will open the cabinet anytime soon. Jinyoung then makes his way to the door and slowly pries the door open. He is careful to only open it enough for him to peak in without the queen noticing.

“She is nowhere to be found” the queen’s voice echoes through her large room. “The men have raided all the houses and there is no sign of her. How can she be the fairest in the land if she does not exist in this town?”

Jinyoung watches her spit fury. She was pacing the room in front of her dressing table. Her long dark purple dress had a black cloak that draped down to the floor. Her chest was crested with a large shiny pendant that held the cloak in place. The gems in the crown that she wore as a sign of her ruling matched the gem in the pendant.

“I am growing weaker!” She bellowed so suddenly after a long silence. Jinyoung almost yelped in surprise as he racks his brains for an explanation. It was almost as if she was talking to someone but there was no one other than her in the room. The queen stood, heaving her breath, eyes furiously glaring at the reflection of herself in the dressing table mirror.

Jinyoung then realized that the queen did seem weaker. Her once flawless skin was now wrinkled and dull. Her hair that was usually in a tight bun, was now let loose, the strands prominent with white hair. Her movement that was once youthful and energetic was now lethargic. It was almost as if her powers were waning.

“I’m going to try this again and you are going to tell me what I need to hear” she breathed dangerously low. Her tone filled with venom that brought back the memories of his mere escape from her clutches.

“Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?”

_Mirror?_

Her voice echoes in the large chamber. It is only met with deafening silence that made Jinyoung’s hair rise at the back of his neck. _She is speaking with someone._

“SNOW WHITE?!” she shouted, clutching the sides of her dressing table. “I AM GOING TO KILL HER IF IT’S THE LAST THING I DO!”

In a fit of rage she pushes off all the trinkets that decorate her dressing table and they fall onto the hard ground in a loud smash. She lets out a furious scream, her hands clawing at the hair and Jinyoung could see some of it, falling out as she pulls, almost as if youth had escaped her that even her hair was fragile and falling out. She then slumps to the ground in angry tears. Her hands held out in front of her as she gazes onto the strands of hair in the palm of her hand.

She was weak and Jinyoung might just know why.

“So is it true?” he entered in new confidence. “The reason you are using your powers is because of me?”

The evil queen looks up in an almost shock expression at his entrance but it quickly washes away with fury.

“YOU!” she hissed.

 “It’s the mirror isn’t it” Jinyoung snickers, enjoying the desperate panic in the queen’s face. “It’s what powers your magic. It only powers your magic because you used to be the fairest of them all but you aren’t anymore are you?”

“How did you –“ her voice was frail in sign of vulnerability that awakens Jinyoung’s thirst for revenge.

“Is Snow White the fairest of them all?” Jinyoung taunts. “Is that why you are ugly now?”

“HOW DARE YOU” she swiftly raises to her feet and immediately lifting her arms in a familiar exaggerated motion. Jinyoung could predict it and swiftly dodges her attack. A wooden chair flies into the air and falls with a loud crack from behind Jinyoung. Jinyoung could feel the blood pumping through his veins and the accelerated heart beat that held his eagle focus. He dodges attacks swiftly moving around the large chamber, his eyes fixed on the queen’s offense. 

The queen follows his movement as Jinyoung dodges the attacks she flings onto him but she keeps on missing. Her powers weakening with each blow and her energy was quickly dwindling. Jinyoung knew from the way his finger tips tingle what he had to do. It was time. It was finally time.

Jinyoung’s ears perked to the pants of exhaustion from the queen after the last of her energy was spent on a weak blow that missed Jinyoung completely. Jinyoung roots himself to the cold ground and allows his rage to fuel his energy as he lifts his hands and focused on the buzz of his gift within him. Within seconds, dark green vines grew from between the bricks of the floor underneath the queen, shifting the structure of the castle ground, breaking it. Jinyoung could see the queen try to escape but she was too slow and weak. The vines catch her wrist and wrap around her body, holding her in place despite her struggle.

 “You are magic!” she gulped. Her eyes set on his face, a weak glare setting itself in.

“There are plenty of things you don’t know about me” Jinyoung assured smugly.

“You sure seem cocky for a girl who could move trees” her eyes mocking staring at him, once again making Jinyoung feel nothing but worthless. All the times she had put him down surging back at him. All the times he had regretted not telling his father of her abuse towards him. All the times she had stepped on him and Jinyoung had done nothing, making his nails dig into the inside of him palm. Jinyoung was fuming.

“It’s time you paid for all the innocent people you have hurt” Jinyoung said between gritted teeth, the palm of his hands slowly moving in a circular motion making the vines grow to wrap itself around the queen’s neck. Her eyes fixed on his face as if she was concentrating.

“ _You_ ” she says breathlessly as the vines slowly tightened around her slander neck, eyes now squinting his every feature.

“ _Skin_ as white as snow…” her voice only small murmurs but it cracks through Jinyoung’s façade like a dagger.

“ _Lips_ as red as blood…” Jinyoung could feel his focus slipping, as her voice filled his hearing, slithering on his skin like an ice cold snake.

“ _Hair_ dark as night…” she hissed. “I know who you are”

Jinyoung gulped feeling his body freeze under her gaze. She knew. Yugyeom had warned him about how the protection spell would break if anyone knew. She knew and the spell was broken.

_Jinyoung could really die tonight._

“Park Jinyoung, the fallen PRINCE!” she growled, words laced with fury, an evil laugh followed. “Finally, the princess your mother wanted you to be I see”

Jinyoung falls back, taking slow steps towards the exit, not daring to face away from the queen and desperately trying to control the vines  he had been manipulating around her body but failing. _This was it._

“You thought this would work? Coming into my house and playing me like a fool?” the queen said as she easily shrugged off the now dead brown vines on her body. “Well, you messed with the wrong witch”

She opens her palm and raises it into the air. Flashes of red light temporarily blind Jinyoung and a red apple appears dancing in her invisible grip.

“Your father loved apples. He said it reminded him of your mother. Don’t you love apples?”

Jinyoung shakes head, his hands shakily trying to call for some assistance. He loved apples but there was no need to tell truth to the enemy.

“Well, you are going to love it now.”

He watches the queen murmur under her breath and lightly blows on the red apple, making it fly to Jinyoung’s eye level. Jinyoung lets it dance in front of his eyes, the glow of its skin hypnotizing him. It looked delicious and every fiber of Jinyoung’s body wanted to just puncture his teeth through the perfect skin.

“Go on, take a bite” she urges, catching Jinyoung’s attention. Jinyoung turned her way and saw the reflection of Snow White in the queen’s mirror. After all this, nothing had changed. He was still a girl who could do nothing. He couldn’t avenge his parents or his people. He couldn’t claim what was rightfully his. He couldn’t even look in the mirror and see Jinyoung, his true self, rather than a description of what his father wanted him to be. Nothing has changed and yet he was going to meet his demise.

The apple then flies in front of him again and he grabs it in his hand. _Don’t eat it._

He thought of the grave look that flashed across Yugyeom’s face when he told him about his vision. Yugyeom had probably seen this coming. Yugyeom had probably seen him die. _Don’t._

He could feel his heart fill with sorrow and his eyes water with tears as his lifts the apple to his mouth. It looks perfect, the red matching his lips. It was almost as if he was destined to bite through it. It was almost as if he was made to fall in love with a perfect apple.

_Goodbye world._

_Goodbye Mark._

He takes a bite.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> is it getting too complicated? did you get what i mean? ah the questions i want to ask my readers. tell me if you don't get anything! happy to answer questions.  
> anyway, title is a lyric from Kids of Yesterday - MCR.  
> also this came in a month late. you guys must hate me ;~; i'm sorry. working on the next one as we speak, hopefully it won't take another month *fingers crossed*  
> [ask me on tumblr](http://gotsichi7.tumblr.com/ask) or mention me on twitter @gotsichi7


	7. Can I be the only hope for you?  (because you’re the only hope for me)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Can i be the only hope for you because you're the only hope for me?"
> 
> "Funny... Same"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fair warning: there are switching of POV during this chapter and in Yugyeom's POV the pronouns for Snow/Jinyoung switch around. This is because Yugyeom knows Snow as Jinyoung and even for him it is confusing to decide on pronouns but anyways i hope it doesn't confuse you. just know that Snow and Jinyoung are the same person.

Can I be the only hope for you?

(because you’re the only hope for me)

  ~~~~

Mark paces. It was pitch black outside now that night has fallen. The snow from where he had been pacing in front of the cottage was slowly melting away. The only light illuminating his path from one side to the other was the same light that illuminated the inside of house. In other words, Mark was pacing in the dark with his fingers almost falling off from the cold but his was so focused on his thoughts that there was no way anyone could persuade him into the warmth.

Pretty sure at some point of the day Jackson had attempted just that but was pushed (rather harshly) away.

Mark doesn’t know why he was so worked up. He doesn’t know why he was so worried. Maybe his guilty conscious was making him worried that it was his fault. He had rejected Snow White just before leaving for work that day. He didn’t let her down easy but rather ran away from her like a coward he was. He was foolish and the voice inside his head kept telling him it was his fault she had ran away. It was his fault that Snow White was somewhere out there either running from the queen or already caught by her.

In which case, she would have been dead by morning.

Mark gulped at the thought, stopping dead in his tracks. He could see the outline of his boots on where he had trampled over the snow. It was ironic how he was so worked up over her when he had almost without a second thought rejected her and wanted to run away from her like the plague just this morning. Now all he wanted was for her to appear.

Everything about Snow White made him feel weird. It was like he was pulled to her but that attraction felt so wrong in his bones. It was probably due to the fact that every part of his interaction with Snow White gave the eerie feel of his days spent with a certain someone he was trying so hard to forget.

_Jinyoung_

Mark kicked an innocent bucket causing it to crash loudly onto the ground. It was so frustrating. Everything he did he was reminded of Jinyoung. Everything since the day Jinyoung had left him with a short apology, his thoughts would always wonder to that man. It drove him insane. All he wanted was to forget the pain in his heart of the way things had ended. All he wanted was to forget the look Jinyoung had sent him before being taken back to the castle where he truly belongs. All he wanted to do was to forget how much he was truly smitten by that wondrous encounter.

But even as he worried of Snow White his mind was trailing to the never ending thought of Jinyoung in his head.

“Are you okay?”

Mark tilted his head up to see Youngjae standing at the door with a large blanket in his hand. He had a concerned expression on his face as he looked down at Mark who had somehow manage to end up kneeling in the snow. His knees numb by the cold dampness.

Mark nodded in reply to Youngjae, getting up to his feet, raising an arm in silent protest when Youngjae tried to help him. He could stand on his own. His mind was a mess but his physical body could still function. Mark carelessly positions the bucket he had kicked to make himself a seat. He places it close to the wall so he could lean on the icy walls of the cottage. Youngjae hands him the blanket, looking at Mark cautiously as he wrapped it around his shivering body.

“Are you waiting for her to come back?” Youngjae asked, leaning against the door frame. The warmth of the fireplace in the house seeping through the open door and Mark felt some relief from it. He was colder than he thought he was.

“Are you scared she isn’t going to be back?” Youngjae prodded when Mark didn’t reply.

Mark looked at his brother with a blank expression. He was thinking of an answer but was coming up short. He doesn’t know himself what he was doing soaking himself in snow in the unforgiving winter night. Maybe he was waiting; maybe he was punishing himself for feeling this way. One may never know.

“Is it because you love her, hyung?” Youngjae asked, turning his face to look at his brother. His tone making it almost like he was making a statement rather than asking a question. It made Mark let an inaudible gasp escape him.

“You do, don’t you?”

Mark could only look at Youngjae with an empty expression because he wasn’t sure. Maybe he did love Snow White that’s why he felt slightly lifted when Snow White had allowed him to stay in her company in the lonely nights when he couldn’t sleep. Maybe he did love Snow White and her never ending stories about the beautiful stars at night. Maybe he did love her because when he was with Snow, it felt like he was with Jinyoung. Maybe he did love Snow but it was all for the wrong reasons.

A loud crack of branches breaking echoed between the silences of the two of them. Their heads immediately snapping to the direction of the sound, Mark rose to his feet. The rustling of leafs made the both of them stare at the moving spot in the dark forest.

“Who is there?” Mark experimentally shouts, his hand blindly grabbing a weapon (crowbar) at the things to his right. He holds it up in defence as Youngjae hides behind him. He could hear the ruckus of Bambam and Jackson finding their way to the front door. Its open wide enough for the whole household to hear that trouble has come.

Mark could feel his heart pounding in his chest when he stares at the moving branches that was barely lit. The grip he has on the crowbar was iron tight making his palm sweat but he holds it high in front of him anyway. He doesn’t usually draw a menacing look but from the sounds of footsteps and the amount of rustling he knew it wasn’t forest animals. It was humans and more than one of them.

It feels like a decade before a silhouette of someone appears. They are panting as if exhaustion has taken over.

“Who’s there?” Mark barks. “Show yourself”

Slowly, they walk into the light. There was a tall, lanky man with boyish features standing next to a slightly shorter man who was clad in black leather armor. His hands were wrapped around a body, holding it up close to his chest, the weight obviously taking a toll on his energy as he panted.

“Jaebum,” he panted, looking at the taller guy as if waiting for him to speak.

“I’m Yugyeom” the taller one says, he steps forward closer to Mark. Mark could hear Youngjae coming closer to him whether in preparation to fight along or to hide behind him, he wasn’t sure. He could hear the footsteps of Bambam and Jackson coming to a stop close to them. They were all here now.

“WHY ARE YOU HERE?” Mark screamed when he feels him gets a little too close for comfort. Yugyeom doesn’t even flinch. He does, however, stop in his tracks and the frown on his face grows deeper into his chubby cheeks. He looked straight into Mark’s eyes and Mark immediately felt guilty and exposed for his obvious unnecessary shouting.

“Ji- Snow White” He stuttered moving aside, his hands visibly shaking as he motions to Jaebum, showing them the girl he was holding. Mark’s heart pounds loudly in his ears when the muted noise of Jackson wailing towards the girl in the man’s clutches.

He registers that Yugyeom had said _Snow White_ and made a gesture for the limp body in the other man’s arms. He registers that Youngjae who was hiding behind him was now crowding the stranger along with Bambam following the hysterical Jackson. He registers Jackson’s cloak around the body that was still in this man’s arms but he remained frozen in his spot, crowbar slowly descending as he watched them rush the stranger in so they were out of the cold.

Mark opens and closes his mouth at the tall man in front of him, trying to comprehend the situation, trying to find the right questions to ask. But then Yugyeom looked at him, with an expression like he knew what Mark was thinking and his lips drawn into a straight line.

“She’s not dead,” he mumbled, slowly stepping towards the front door. “Yet”

-o0o-

Yugyeom was shaking. He has been shaking since the moment he had seen Snow White on the ground iin the queen's chambers. He was shaking from the moment he had seen Jinyoung on the ground. He tries to blame it on the winter night that fell upon them as they walked to the cottage but now that they were in the cottage, warmth surging to redden his ears, he was still shaking.

Maybe it was the sight of Jinyoung lying on the small dining table, with a peaceful smile on his face. Maybe it was the way he could hear the brothers and Jaebum talking in their minds and all of them think she is dead. Maybe because the sorrow everyone felt towards Snow White in this condition multiplied because he could hear them thinking. And maybe he was shaking because if Jinyoung was dead, it was his fault.

He was the one who turned him into Snow White making him the queen’s number 1 target. He was the one who let Jinyoung learn his magic capabilities building some sort of confidence for the other to take down the queen. He was the one who had planted him in Mark’s house, despite knowing full well, Mark would never accept her. He only knew Jinyoung. So he knew there was a possibility that this would all turn into a big mess and yet he had proceeded with it.

It was his entire fault. And he wasn’t the only one who thought it was their fault. He could hear Mark echo his words in his brain. He thinks it’s his fault for rejecting Snow White for Jinyoung.

_Oh, if only you knew._

Mark stood painfully stiff as Jaebum recounted what had happened in the castle.

 “The queen was visibly sick and I knew if I wanted to kill her, now was the time to strike. But when I reached the chambers the guard wasn’t there. I knew something was wrong. I could hear loud banging and crashing in the queen’s chambers. I took a peak and saw her there. She had the queen held in tree vines, choking her. She had the vines in her command. She had magic”

Yugyeom could hear the collective gasp of everyone as the statement leaves Jaebum’s mouth. He tries to tune them out so he could focus on Mark’s thoughts. It was the only thing that could save Jinyoung right now. _Hopefully..._

“I thought the queen was done for, she was going in for the kill but suddenly she lost control. I couldn’t hear them talking but she mentioned the prince and it was as though she lost her magic.”

Yugyeom could feel the jolt in Mark’s brain from the mention of the prince. The dilemma of his life between Snow white and Jinyoung was awakened once more.

“The queen conjured an apple out of thin air and it was like she was hypnotized” Jaebum looked solemnly at Snow White. "She took a bite and fell to the ground as if she was dead. I thought she was dead”

“How did you get her out of there?” Mark asked despite his twisting thoughts.

“Him” Jaebum pointed at Yugyeom. “He came through the windows like magic”

 Yugyeom tries to block out the freaked out expression of the other brothers and focuses on rectifying Jinyoung. He was cursed by a love potion, a love potion that had been cast to a poison apple. Yugyeom knew the poison apple was cursed; he had fished it out of Jinyoung’s hand in the castle. He knew it was cursed with dark magic and it should kill Jinyoung the moment he punctures his teeth into it but instead Yugyeom could still see Jinyoung breathing. It was faint but he was still there, somewhere in Snow White’s body.

There was a thin thread of hope that his protection spell still worked. The queen had obviously found out that Snow White was Jinyoung. So the spell might have been broken but Snow White was still breathing. So maybe the spell just hadn’t been broken. Maybe something went wrong and the spell didn’t break.

Maybe his spell was the only thing keeping Jinyoung alive at the moment.

But he wasn’t really alive if he was in this state. So Yugyeom has to do something, fast. He tunes out the rest of Jaebum’s story as the brothers quiz him of how they had managed to find the cottage and focuses on thinking of what could break the curse.

"So you carried Snow White all the way here?"

“ _Snow White?”_ Yugyeom could hear Jaebum think out loud as the brother’s talk. He could hear Jaebum’s brain trying to remember where he had heard that name before. He could hear Jaebum almost figuring out that Snow White was meant to be the name of the princess of the kingdom but when Jinyoung had arrived he was given a different name.

“Jaebum” Yugyeom almost shouts, desperate to stop Jaebum from finding out. If Jaebum found out, Jinyoung would be done for. He needs to think fast. “She’s been cursed and it’s only a matter of time before it kills her”

Yugyeom listened to Jaebum’s thoughts shift to Snow White and keeping her alive and his heart settles. Then Yugyeom’s eyes set on Mark’s hands intertwined with Snow White’s. His eyes were windows to the ache he felt as he runs his thumb across her hand.

_“Please don’t die… please don’t die! Please!”_

Then it clicks in his mind. Only true love could break a love potion. Only true love could overcome such dark magic.

Though, it was tricky because Mark loved Jinyoung and the one sitting in front of him was Snow White. Yugyeom can’t tell him that the one he had been with all this time was Jinyoung because it would break the protection spell and ultimately kill him. Where does Yugyeom find the balance?

“What do we do?” Bambam whines and Yugyeom could feel his heart weaken at the sound.

“Only you can break it” he points up to Mark. It was a bold move and Mark could possibly just laugh it off but Mark just stares at him with wide eyes. He could hear all the 1001 reasons running in mark’s head that he couldn’t do anything. If there was one thing he wished he could grant Mark was self-confidence.

“I’m not magic. What could I possibly do?”

“He was cursed by a love spell and if it’s one thing that could cure a love potion its true love” Mark looked at him with an expression that looked a lot like a lost puppy. “And you love him”

“Him?” Bambam mumbled but Yugyeom ignored it, making sure Mark was getting the picture. He could hear Jaebum’s mind work fast on this progression, trying to work out what was going on. Mark had to beat him, or else things could go horribly wrong.

“Stop, Jaebum. He needs to figure it out on his own” Yugyeom barks at Jaebum and Jaebum looked at him wildly. His thoughts immediately geared to hitting Yugyeom. Jinyoung owes him so much.

Yugyeom could almost hear the gears in Mark’s mind beginning to work and realizing that Yugyeom was hinting on that he knew. He knew what was going on in his mind. And he knew Mark was able to do it.

“True love’s kiss” Yugyeom whispered, trying to coax Mark into it. “You love him, don’t you? Trust me, it would work”

 “Why do you keep saying him?” Jackson suddenly asked, breaking the somewhat tense atmosphere. “Snow White is a girl. Don’t you mean her?”

Yugyeom sends a glare at Jackson but quickly returns his stare onto Mark. Every second was crucial. He could hear Mark making out the similarities of Jinyoung and Snow White. He could hear him contemplating his feelings all over again. He could hear Mark’s beating heart as he thought of the beautiful moments he had with Jinyoung. Then he tunes into one of his earlier memories with Jinyoung and Yugyeom knew exactly what to say.

“Do you believe in magic, Mark?”

Mark’s eyes grew wider. He recognized the question. He then looked down at Snow White and started tracing his fingers on her white skin. He brings their faces closer together as if examining from far wasn’t enough.

_“My mother pricked her finger on the thorns of this tree in winter. She made a wish for a daughter who had skin white as snow, lips red as blood and hair black as night but somehow, she was stuck with me…”_

Yugyeom felt a chill run down his spine when Mark allows his lips to press softly onto Snow White’s. It was happening. This was the moment when he would know if Jinyoung would make it or break it.

There is unison of gasps from the audience. He could hear their protest of watching their brother kiss an unmoving body. He could see them retract with disgust (Bambam) or with delight (Jackson).

One second later, there was a blinding white light. Yugyeom covers his eyes with his arm knowing exactly what was happening, the protection spell was breaking.

_Is it working or is he dying?_

_-o0o-_

Mark felt his whole being flush in heat when he finally allows the distance between them so their lips brush against each other. Her lips are cold but they were soft. Their lips are pressed together and Mark doesn’t even dare open his eyes, just in case it doesn’t work. Just in case, Yugyeom was wrong.

Its feels like a whole minute of Mark just pressing his lips on soft unmoving ones, feeling his heart thump in anticipation on something, anything to happen. It only felt natural when he works his way on her lips. His lips were moving tentatively to lap and nibble hers. She taste like roses and smells of flowers, her skin smooth under his touch as he holds her head in place.

Mark felt her lips becoming warmer and he was unsure if it was because his lips have warmed hers or finally something is working and maybe the curse was breaking. He opens his eyes to see that Snow White was still unresponsive, despite the increasing warmth he could feel under his lips.

_Was it working or not?_

Mark continues to press his lips further into her soft lips. His lips were nibbling on it, letting his tongue softly swipe across her lips. It feels strange kissing something unmoving and Mark felt himself want to recoil but he wasn’t about to give up on Snow White. He had let her down once; he wasn’t going to do it again.

He focuses instead on their beautiful conversations and the times he had felt the seamless connection. He tries to knit the picture of Snow White and Jinyoung, instead of how he had constantly compared them. He focuses of what Yugyeom was hinting him, Snow White was _him._ And suddenly Mark felt his heart burst at the thought that he wasn’t kissing just some girl but rather, he was kissing Jinyoung.

He smiles into the kiss, thinking of the times he had wished Jinyoung would appear from the thick forest. His heart races when he thinks of the times he had stared at his lips as he pouts them to form a whistle. He thinks of that one time in autumn, the air was crisp as they wrestle on the stack of orange leaves and Mark had to hold himself back because his lips were right there. Here he was kissing Jinyoung.

Mark opens his eyes in shock when he felt the increasing heat on his lips was scorching him. Flashes of white lights blind him as he loses his balance and falls butt first on the floor. The dining room filled with a chorus of gasps. Mark blinks rapidly trying to reorient himself after his fall and the blinding lights. He could see Jaebum, Yugyeom and his brothers all scattered on the floor, seeming to have lost balance just like him.

He stands as fast as his body would allow him without getting a head rush. He could feel his jaw drop in surprise when he sees the body on top of the dining table.

“Prince Jinyoung?”

Mark could hear Jaebum lifting himself off the ground to run to Jinyoung’s side. His voice shaking with what Mark assumed was disbelief, something he could relate with.

Jinyoung however was still lying perfectly still. His ragged clothing was stained with dirt, still wrapped warmly around the cloak Jackson had given Snow White.

Snow White was Jinyoung after all.

“Jinyoung” Mark stuttered making his way towards him. He reaches for his arm but flinches when he realized Jinyoung was still scorching hot.

“Why is he still unconscious? You said it would work!” Mark growls towards Yugyeom who was looking frantic causing Mark to feel 10 times worst.

_First love’s kiss?_

Mark eyes started to water. Maybe it didn’t work because Jinyoung never loved him. Maybe it didn’t work because Mark wasn’t his first love. Who would love a mere commoner like him, who worked in dirty coaled rags, when he could find a prince or princess?

_But I love him, doesn’t that count for something?_

Mark looked at the peaceful face of Jinyoung through his tear-vision. He loved him but now, Jinyoung was dying. And it was all his fault for not realizing Snow white was Jinyoung all along. If only he knew, he wouldn’t have rejected Snow. If only he knew, Snow White wouldn’t have ran away.

If only he knew, he would have killed the queen himself.

Instead, he had spent all this time thinking Jinyoung was a lying bastard and Snow White was no comparison to his first love.

_What a fool._

“I’m sorry” is the first thing that falls out of his mouth. He falls to his knees and leans his head on the table, afraid to reach for Jinyoung’s hands in case it would burn him. “I’m sorry” he sobs.

Jackson lets out a gasp. Maybe he was shocked that the eldest could cry. Maybe he was shocked that the reason Mark had been heartbroken was that he was in love with the prince. Mark can’t really think of it but he felt warm hands cup the back of his neck almost as if trying to comfort him.

Jackson was an idiot but at least he knows how to make him feel slightly better.

“Why are you sorry?” a hoarse sounding voice echoes the room. Mark feels goose bumps form on his arm as he looks up to see Jinyoung dark brown eyes staring down at him. “Why are crying?”

It takes a moment to register that the warm hand making comforting strokes on the back of his neck, threading through his hair softly was Jinyoung’s hand, not Jackson’s.

“I thought I lost you” Mark whimpers lamely, his tears still wetting his cheeks.

Jinyoung has a faint smile on his face that makes Mark’s stomach do somersaults. Jinyoung grips his collar and tugs him closer. “I thought you didn’t want me” he whispers and Mark’s heart breaks.

“I didn’t know”

Jinyoung’s smile grows wider as if he was so happy to see Mark. His eyes turning into small crescents and it took everything for him to not just kiss those lips again.

“Is anyone going to fill us in or are we going to stand here and pretend we know what’s going on?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~i'm posting this in a rush. so this isn't beta-ed yet.~~  
>  **EDIT:** BETA-ed. i apologize once again if this is confusing.
> 
> i'm glad that based on the comments you guys get the story line and all that. please do tell me if you need like further clarification or things like that. or even have any questions at all. i love talking about writing and fics and just everything...
> 
>   
> shout at me @ gotsichi7 on tumblr/twitter.  
> i'm out


	8. Have you heard the news that you’re dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The quiet before the storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tbh, this is unbeta-ed because lately that's just who i am as a person. also blockquote italics are flashbacks to what happened after the kiss.

Have you heard the news that you’re dead

“Don't judge yourself by what others did to you.”   
― [ **C. Kennedy**](http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5816900.C_Kennedy), [ **Ómorphi**](http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/24956179)

Jinyoung stared at the glimmering stars above his head. It had been a long day and by right he should be asleep. The throbbing in his head after the transformation had taken place was subdued but it was still there. And yet he couldn’t fall asleep.

It might have been because he almost died or it could have been because he didn’t.

 

> _“Why am I not dead?”_
> 
> _Yugyeom gave him a thoughtful look, the words that fell out of Jinyoung’s mouth stinging him._
> 
> _“She found out who I was, Yugyeom. The protection spell should have broken. I knew the apple was going to kill me but I couldn’t help myself.” Jinyoung could hear how squeky his voice was recalling the incident. He was face to face with death and yet he was still here._
> 
> _“Why am I not dead?”_
> 
> _“I have a theory but it’s not 100%. When you use black magic, you have a price to pay. I’m guessing her price was her soul which made her something less than human. She knew but it couldn’t break the spell. You were still Snow White when I found you. It was a sign the spell didn’t break”_

Jinyoung remembers looking at the reflection of Snow White in the mirror before taking a bite into that poison apple. Who would have known that Snow White that he had came to hate would save him. he had thought Snow White was useless but really, it was the one thing that saved him.

 

> _“What are we going to do now?” Jinyoung looked up at Yugyeom and Jaebum who had invited himself into their sort of private conversation. The others were still trying to wrap their heads around the fact that Snow White was actually a man and not just any man, the prince of the kingdom._
> 
> _“Now that Snow White is gone, she will grow stronger” Jinyoung said. He knows that Snow White had weakened the queen and with the spell broken, she would only grow stronger and Jinyoung wouldn’t stand a chance._
> 
> _Yugyeom frowns at him._
> 
> _“Now, you have something better than Snow White” Yugyeom said seriously. His expression was slightly too stern for his liking. It was almost as if he was still sulking that Jinyoung had tried to strike the queen alone. “You have me. I can help you fight her.”_
> 
> _“I can too. I can’t do magic but I’m a huntsman and I was born to fight” Jaebum muttered, fire blazing in his eyes._
> 
> _“Wherever you go, I go”_
> 
> _Jinyoung turned his head to Mark who was over looking them talking from the door frame. He has a small proud smirk on his face when Jinyoung’s makes eye contact with him. Jinyoung tries to suppress his fluttering heart and the disapproving look Yugyeom had. It serves him right for snooping in his head again._

“Can’t sleep?”

Jinyoung’s head snapped towards the door so fast he might have whiplash. Mark was standing next to him with two mugs of hot tea in his hands. A small smile was playing on his features.

Jinyoung shakes his head, trying to calm his raging heartbeat. It was ridiculous that he felt this nervous because this wasn’t a new scene. He has spent nights sitting in the front of the cottage with Mark, gazing at stars countless times. It was nothing new.

And yet he felt so exposed and nervous his hands were visibly shaking as he accepts the mug of hot tea from the latter. Alright maybe it’s all new because Jinyoung was now Jinyoung. Mark knew everything now. Technically speaking, he was exposed.

“For you this probably feels like any other night,” Mark said raising his head looking at Jinyoung’s face, shooting up Jinyoung’s heart rate by the second. “But this feels so new to me”

He finds his place next to Jinyoung, letting himself find comfort on the makeshift stool. He is closer than usual or maybe Jinyoung was larger as a man while Snow White was smaller. Jinyoung met his gaze with apologetic eyes. He felt sorry because it must have been so confusing for him.

“It’s strange for me too” Jinyoung replied. “I feel exposed”

Mark hums thoughtfully at that, looking at the sky if only to break the increasing intensity of the atmosphere around them.

“Is there anything else I should know?” Mark said, letting Jinyoung be confused for a moment before a playful smirk hits his features.”Because I really don’t think I can take any more surprises after this” Mark said, his tone playful. Jinyoung couldn’t help but burst into laughter. It shouldn’t be funny because the last Jinyoung had checked Mark didn’t believe in magic. So for him to be in the middle of a royal spat for the kingdom that involved evil witches, enchanted forest, fairies and a prince that just happens to be his love interest, it was definitely a lot to take in. But Mark cracks a joke about it and Jinyoung could feel warmth spread in his chest.  

“If only I had known it was you all along” Mark mumbled, taking a sip on his tea as if trying to hide the hurt he held onto. Jinyoung frowned. Now, he feels bad for laughing.

“I’m sorry” Jinyoung apologizes. “I’m sorry that it turned out this way”

Mark let his eyes scan Jinyoung for a moment. “Don’t worry about it. Yugyeom told me what the spell entailed. If it wasn’t for the spell you wouldn’t even be here”

Jinyoung lets the side of his mouth twinge into a short smile. He is grateful that Mark had saved him. He is grateful that Mark broken the curse. He is grateful for everything that happened even though he wished it had happened differently. Maybe, Mark wouldn’t have to hold in his hurt for so long.

“Though, excuse me for being selfish for wishing I had known so I wouldn’t have wasted all that time away from you” Mark flashes a flirty smile and Jinyoung feels a blush creep onto his face. Mark was being blunt about his feelings and Jinyoung wasn’t quite used to it yet. “It would have saved me so much time from the dilemma between Snow White and you if I had known all along it was the same person”

Mark has an amused chuckle bubbling under his smile but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “I’m sorry” Jinyoung said guiltily, not really knowing what he is apologizing for. Just guilty that it had happened the way it did.

“It’s alright though. You’re here now and that’s all that matters to me” Mark said placing his free hand on Jinyoung’s letting it tentatively curl around Jinyoung’s fingers, locking their hands together, resting it on Jinyoung’s thigh. He feels the rush of blood to his head, a blush quickly forming. Jinyoung looked away at his dirty feet, holding in the smile.

They stayed hand in hand for a moment, just sipping on warm tea, enjoying each other’s presence. Jinyoung tried to focus on the starry night like he used to but today he simply can’t and in the end he ends up staring at Mark’s side profile completely enamored at how handsome Mark Tuan truly was. At some point, Mark catches him and he looks away shyly. Mark however just laughs.

“I never imagined you would have rejected Snow White”

Mark looked at Jinyoung with the most shocked expression Mark had ever seen. His eyebrows were lost behind his soft brunette locks of his fringe, eyes blown wide and mouth forming a little ‘o’. Jinyoung wouldn’t say it out loud but that reaction was so cute and his heart is filled with adoration.

“I thought you would have accepted her feelings and if you did, for a moment, I thought I could live pretending Jinyoung never existed”

Mark’s expression morphed to express seriousness that made Jinyoung feel fear. Mark slowly extracted his hand from Jinyoung’s. “Why were you so convinced I loved her?”

“You looked at her like she put stars in the sky” Jinyoung squeaked. Mark was rarely this serious it scared him. When the words all leave his mouth Mark looked at Jinyoung with disapproval. He is silent for a whole minute which makes Jinyoung more scared. It felt like a bomb was waiting to explode.

“You know” Mark start, tone soft but not any less scary. “For every moment I spent with Snow White, I was reminded that no matter what or where I went you were the one I was looking for. Every part of her reminded me of you and yet to me, at the time, she wasn’t you. Do you realize how difficult that was for me?”

Jinyoung flinched at the hurt that laced Mark’s words. He wasn’t looking at Jinyoung, his tongue constantly swiping his lips as if it was dry but it wasn’t with the amount of time he was wetting it.

“I was constantly reminded that I was attracted to her only because she was the closest I would ever get to the ever unreachable Prince Jinyoung” Mark’s voice cracking as he said the word prince. For a moment, Jinyoung was overwhelmed with feelings. He hadn’t thought that Mark had ever loved him as Jinyoung and now that he knows, he hadn’t realized the gravity of his feelings. It had hit him like a boulder, squishing his lungs, suffocating him.

“For a long time, I have been holding this torch for you. I still do, even when I thought I had no chance”

Mark Tuan, the forest coal miner had fallen in love with the Prince thinking he was forgotten. Jinyoung’s heart breaks at just the thought. How could he be so blind of Mark’s feelings?

“How long?” he croaked, rendered almost speechless.

Mark looked at him with the softest expression. His face was growing a darker shade of pink with each moment passing. “Since the very first day; since I heard you sing to birds. Since you let me be your friend.”

Jinyoung was taken aback. All this time he had thought it was only him who had feelings for the other especially from the start.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Jinyoung feeling a little frustrated of all the wasted time. All the time they could have spent in each other’s arms but instead they were dancing around each other.

“At the time, I thought you were a town boy and I was a coal miner. You had books and I had rags. Now, I know you are a prince. How could I ever compare, Jinyoungie?”

“Those are all meaningless” Jinyoung exasperated. “I’ve been a prince my whole life but as my kingdom fell apart I sat in the sidelines waiting for something that would never come. Naivety led me to believe that when the time came I would rule the kingdom and restore what my father had built. But after all that, I was betrayed and left with nothing. I’m a prince but I sure as hell don’t deserve to be one”

Mark shakes his head, a smirk splaying on his face. “You are the kindest and smartest man I have ever met. The world has yet to see that but I’ve seen it from the first time I lay my eyes on you, Park Jinyoung. A beauty inside and out” Mark reaches for his hand and squeezes it. “Your brain and heart just can’t compare, I am constantly captivated by it”

“You’re crazy” Jinyoung blushed, struggling to keep eye contact due his shyness.

“Crazy for you, town boy” Mark flashes a wide smile.

Jinyoung hadn’t heard Mark call him that for a long time. Warmth spreading in his chest when he realized Mark would never have played around like this with Snow White. And it was all because his heart was already taken. Mark loved him and only him.

“If you haven’t noticed, I’m crazy about you too”

Mark smiled and Jinyoung could see him leaning in closer. “How are we going to save the kingdom if we’re both crazy?” he laughs. His breath was tickling Jinyoung’s cheek from the proximity. All Jinyoung could hear was the pounding of his heart and the blood in his veins. His eyes fixated on Mark’s lips that were getting closer by the second.

“I gave you my first kiss but I’m sure it doesn’t count if you don’t remember it” Mark hums. “Can I give it to you again?”

Jinyoung doesn’t remember nodding but he must have because the next thing he knows is soft lips were pressed onto his. Mark is gentle and takes it slow, nipping on his lower lip, letting their wet lips slide against each other in slow and controlled movements. Mark taste like warm tea and smells like the freshly burnt wood. The sensation is overwhelming to a point that Jinyoung is breathless when Mark backs away, his eyes shut in bliss.

“Did you like that, town boy?”

Jinyoung blushes so hard he smacks Mark’s side in attempt to gather whatever sort of pride he had left causing the other to laugh. _Such a tease_

-o0o-

“Are you asleep?”

Jinyoung cracks open his eyes to find Mark standing next to his bed. He hasn’t been sleeping but when he had heard the sound of footsteps come towards his door his first impulse was to pretend he was asleep. He had just separated with Mark just moments ago. Finally deciding that they should head to sleep and get enough rest before the inevitable chaos tomorrow.

“No” Jinyoung whispered, scooting over in the bed to make space for Mark. “You couldn’t sleep as well?”

“Yeah” Mark hummed as he lay next to Jinyoung. Jinyoung could feel Mark’s arm brush on his arm. The blanket they shared shifting as they find a comfortable position. He could feel excitement bubbling in his stomach. This was the first time they had shared a bed.

“What’s wrong with your bed” Jinyoung asked with pretend nonchalance. He continues to stare at the ceiling, too afraid to look at Mark at this proximity.

“Bambam is in it.” Mark said. Jinyoung could feel the bed shift as Mark adjusts his body so that he was looking at Jinyoung. His front facing him, hands tucked under his cheek. Jinyoung could see from the corner of his eyes that Mark was indeed staring at him. “And this bed is better”

“Why is that?”

“Because you are in it”

Jinyoung looked at Mark in almost disbelief at his words. He controls a blush when their eyes meet and Jinyoung is reminded of how close they were at the moment. Jinyoung watched the smug face Mark pulls after Jinyoung’s reaction. He pouts as he swats Mark on the chest making Mark flinch with a soft chuckle. Jinyoung hushed him. Jaebum was sleeping on Bambam’s bed just next to them. It really wouldn’t be good for them if he woke up.

Silence falls between them. It’s just as comfortable as when it was just them in the forest where Jinyoung would be reading a book and Mark stacking leaves only to kick them apart. He missed those simpler times.

“Mark” Jinyoung heard his voice echo. “I’m scared”

“Of what?” Mark said. “The Queen?”

Jinyoung looked at the other and contemplated his answer. He was afraid of the queen. He was afraid that the queen would win and finally kill him after her multiple failed attempts. He was afraid that when the leave to ambush the queen tomorrow, his friends would become victims. He was afraid that at the end of the day no victory will be one and it would all be his fault.

“I’m scared that if we fail, it will all be my fault”

Mark looked at him disapprovingly. He tugs the sleeve of Jinyoung’s sleeve as if pulling him closer. “Come here” he whispered, lowly, sending a shiver up the Jinyoung’s spine. “Closer”

Jinyoung lets Mark tug him closer till he was close enough for Mark to pull him into a hug. Jinyoung felt his heart burst but his body relaxing into the warmth Mark had to offer. They stay in each others arms for a moment; Mark letting his hand cup the back of his head in the most comforting way.

Mark then pulls away to looks directly into Jinyoung’s eyes. He has a soft smile on his face, his eyes glimmering with adoration. Jinyoung could feel himself creep with embarrassment but he doesn’t look away. It’s comfortable and comforting.

“Jinyoungie” he breathed. “You have to stop blaming yourself. Whatever she does to you isn’t your fault. Whatever she does to anyone else is also not your fault”

“I knew she was mean but I let her” Jinyoung could feel his tears well up.

“But you’re trying now and that’s all that matters” Mark cups his cheek and strokes it with his thumb. Jinyoung leans into his touch, desperately trying to calm his incoming tears. “The truth will always prevail, Jinyoung-ah. We will expose her to the people and she would have no choice but to back away”

“She isn’t going to back down without a fight”

“Then fight we shall”

-o0o-

Jinyoung wakes up to loud noises coming from outside the room. He could feel Mark’s hand still enveloping him into his embrace as he gently lets his head rise to inspect the sounds. Jaebum was still sleeping in the bed next to them and the sunlight was pouring into the small window of the downstairs bedroom. The noises, after Jinyoung was awake enough to analyze them, were the sounds of knocking on what Jinyoung could only guess was the front door.

Mark groans awake as Jinyoung tries to untangle himself from him. “Where are you going?” he groans with an undertone of complain. Jaebum was now stirring in his sleep. The sounds of knock were getting louder and louder by the minute.

Jinyoung reaches the front door first, Mark following him close by. When he opens the door, Yugyeom looks frantic and slightly out of breath. It looked like he had run here as fast as he can, or maybe he flew.

“We need to go to town immediately,” he panted. “We need to expose the queen now”

“WHAT?” Jinyoung cried, feeling his sleep vanish to be replaced by panic. “Why so sudden? We hadn’t planned anything. We can’t just go there without a plan”

“Yugyeom, what’s going on?” Mark asked. His toner was calmer than Jinyoung’s.

“There is a funeral that is going to be held today” he manages. His breathing now stabilized. “Prince Jinyoung’s funeral; the queen is declaring the only heir of the king dead”

“All we have to do is show the people that you are alive. There would be a big crowd at the funeral. It would be the best way to expose the queen but we must hurry. The funeral is starting in an hour.”

Jinyoung closes his mouth that had been open out of shock. He wasn’t expecting to wake up to the news of his death. It was going to be a long day.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry. one for taking so long to just be done with this. two for struggling with this prompt.  
> i am however to not let this fic be unfinished.  
> please yell at me to finish this fic @my [tumblr](http://got7arrived.tumblr.com) or twitter @gotsichi7  
> also questions, comments, kudos, criticism, and all that knick knack is welcome. i am forever looking for ways to improve.  
> p/s: if you're interested to beta this fic for me please msg me thanks.


	9. The Sound of My Vendetta Against The Ones That Planned it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snow White and her dwarfs play their song in the castle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope this is still anticipated. it's over soon. bare with me. <3  
> title is from Planetary (GO!) by My Chemical Romance.

The Sound of My Vendetta Against The Ones That Planned it

Mark’s family used to live in a big house. Mark remembered the huge stairs that was in front of the main door. Mark could still recall tracing his fingers in the nooks and crannies of the patterns that were carved into those very stairs. He remembers playing pretend games with Jackson in front of the door as they waited for their father to come home. He remembered that 9 out 10 of those time they would fall asleep on those stairs because his father traveled for long periods of times and no matter how his mother would tell them that their father wouldn’t be back yet, they simply wouldn’t listen. They still insisted that their father would be back from his travels on that very day, everyday.

He was 8 years old when the king was pronounced dead from sickness. His father had returned from his travels a few days after with a solemn look on his face. Mark was only 8 but he knew something was wrong when his father had rushed his mother to the kitchen and talked in urgent whispers to his mother. Mark was only 8 but he could sense that a change was about to happen by the look his mother had on her face when she tucked them in that night.

And Mark was right. The maids of the house were dismissed the next day. His father left in the morning for work but he didn’t ride his carriage like he usually does. Instead he rides his horse with only a small bag of supplies. And he came back before sun down, just in time for his mother’s cooking. His mother had taken over all the chores in the house and had started packing things into boxes while his father was away. The house was in a constant mess because there were no maids to clean and the house was too big for his mother to clean alone. It was a confusing week but one night, during dinner, his father had finally told them what was going on. 

Mark remembered that dinner to be pretty chaotic. They had been eating bread and cheese for three meals consecutively and quite frankly Mark hated it. His mother was frantically trying to calm Bambam who was throwing a fit over the meal. Youngjae was mumbling complains as he stabbed his bread with his butter knife. Jackson, on the other hand, was sat next to his father who was gobbling down his dinner. 

“Why are the maids not cooking dinner for us, father?” he had asked, loud enough to overpower Bambam’s wails. His father stayed silent for a moment and Mark could see his eyes flicker to their mother. “Are we poor now?” Jackson asked again when his father hadn’t said anything. His tone feigned innocence. 

“I’m afraid we are, boys,” His father said, wiping his mouth with the table cloth. “We can no longer afford this house, so, we have to move out.”

“Are we going to be like Miss Iridine from the market, father?” Youngjae piped up. Miss Iridine was the homeless lady who begs for spare change in the market. When Mark follows his mother to the market, she always pats his head. 

“No, no, no… I’m building us a house so we can live in the forest,” his father replied, pinching Youngjae’s chubby cheeks. “I promise all of you that you will never be homeless. I will do whatever it takes!”

So in less than a week later, they moved to the forest. Back then, the house was smaller. It had a kitchen and only one bedroom. His father then started working in the mines. It was difficult to adjust at first but soon enough, Mark and his brothers started to enjoy living in the forest. His father came home before sundown and told them stories of his travels. His mother became an expert at wild herbs and rare mushroom and could trade for good crops in the market. Sometimes, Mark thinks of those times as the best times of his life. That was until his father became ill. 

When his father had died, he had automatically became the man of the house. His mother had managed to keep them afloat by her trade of wild herbs and rare mushrooms but it was barely enough. When Mark had just turned 14, his mother had fallen ill and without any warning, she had left them. 

At the young age of 14, Mark had started working in the mines. It wasn’t easy because he was small and the other workers bullied him endlessly but he had no choice; he was the only hope for his brothers. It had made him who he was today. There was always that sense of pride in him when he saw his brothers. Even if his heart ached when his mother had left them, he had pulled through and thanks to that decision, his brothers were alive and healthy. 

He had grown strong through the difficulties of his life but at this very moment, he wasn’t sure he was strong enough. 

“Are you alright?”

Mark looks up to see Jinyoung looking at him with concern. His face was close enough that Mark could see how smooth the expanse of his skin was. He was wearing his father’s old noble clothing, a white tunic with a large velvet cloak, secured with a broach that had the king’s crest on it. Jinyoung looked dashing and every bit of Mark wanted to stare at his beauty for an eternity. 

“I’m going to be alright, you know,” Jinyoung said catching Mark’s hand into his own. Mark shies away from Jinyoung’s gaze. He noticed that they had fallen back from the group. They were currently making their way to the castle to crash the funeral. 

“I’m sorry,” Mark mumble to the ground. “I’m just worried.”

“You shouldn’t underestimate me. There is more to me than just what meets the eye,” Jinyoung smiled which made Mark’s heart beat a tad bit faster. Mark knew Jinyoung was right. Jinyoung was magic and he was more than capable of taking care of himself. It was just that he wasn’t strong enough for the smile in front of him to be the last he ever had the privilege to witness. 

“Please don’t leave my side,” Mark pleaded, “please!” 

Mark knew he sounded desperate. He knew for a fact that he was and he was pretty sure Jinyoung could tell by the weak smile playing on his face but he didn't care. He had just gotten Jinyoung back. There was no way he could let him slip out of his fingers again. 

-o0o-

Every nerve on Mark’s body is hyper aware. Jinyoung was seated in the pews, hiding behind a woman who wore a hideous large hat. The ceremony had started with solemn music and the priest read bible verses; some of the people were in tears as they stared at the large coffin placed in front of the throne, lifted by the altar. 

Mark hasn’t looked inside the open coffin but just the thought of looking into it was making him sweat. He knew Jinyoung was sitting in the pews, he kept glancing to make sure but if he looks inside the coffin and saw Jinyoung in there, lifeless, he was going to vomit. He simply wasn’t strong enough. 

Mark eyes fleet to Youngjae who was standing at the main entrance then to Yugyeom who was at the opposite of the room. Each entrance was guarded. Bambam and Youngjae standing by the main entrance, Yugyeom by the left and Mark on the right. When Jinyoung exposes himself, the queen will try to run but she would be cornered. 

Mark glances at the calm demeanor on Jinyoung’s face. His eyes focused on the queen that has moved from her throne to the coffin. She has a silk handkerchief in her hand that she used to wipe the tears falling from her eyes. If Mark didn’t know that this whole thing was staged, he would have been fooled. 

“Prince Jinyoung had been a son to me,” she begins with a shaky voice that was almost convincing. “His death has come as a great loss to all of the kingdom.”

Mark felt his ears burn with fury, the queen spewed lies. 

“It is with great honor and humility that i accept the responsibility of ruling this kingdom until my last breath,” she raises her voice with a renewed vigour. The room falling nearly silent besides the murmurs of the nobles and commoners that looked a mix of awe and disguised fear of the queen’s announcement. It was no secret that the kingdom has been suffering since the King’s death. 

“There is no need for that” a voice shouts. Mark watched as Jinyoung stands up from his seat. His eyes set on the floor so the fringe of his hair covers his face partially. Slowly, he looked directly at the queen. “I am the Prince of this kingdom and i am here to claim my throne,”

There is a chorus of gasps. The nobles sitting around Jinyoung backing away from him as if he was a ghost. “Imposter!” the queen shouts which only fell to deaf ears. The crowd was riled up and ready to attack. Sounds of pews screeching as the people attempted to move forward to corner the queen. 

“She has committed treason to this kingdom by faking the death of the true heir. SEIZE HER!” Jinyoung shouts as he walked towards the alter. He has fire in his eyes as it zeros in on the queen that stood frozen by the coffin. 

“STAND DOWN!” The queen shouts. Her arms held in front of her body as if she was ready to attack. The people however heed her warning. 

It all happens in a blink of an eye. The queen casts a spell and the room filled with screams of terror. When Mark open his eyes, he saw the mess they had caused. The nobles who had been at the very front of the crowd were frozen in a thin sheet of ice that covered their whole bodies while others were protected by large veins that grew and shifted the church floor, icicles dangling from the veins from where the queen had managed to cast her spell. 

“Mark!” Mark turned to see Yugyeom casting spells that took form of white light orbs towards the frozen villagers, breaking the freezing spell. “Lead them out. They would only cause more trouble,” Yugyeom stressed. 

Mark nods but his eyes immediately darted to Jinyoung who was busy trying to capture the queen in the tree vines he had conjured. It doesn’t go unnoticed by the fairy. 

“He’ll be fine. I’ll help him,” Yugyeom reassures, squeezing his shoulder before casting more light orbs to the others, melting them.

Mark nodded and glanced at the back of Jinyoung’s head. 

_ I will see you later. _

-o0o-

“You have caused enough pain!” Jinyoung cried as he concentrated on manipulating the movement of the large green vine in front of him. He could hear screams and shouts behind him but he knows he needed to focus. The faster he could catch the queen, the less pain she would inflict. 

“I should have killed you when you were a child!” She flung a large green orb of light in his direction. Jinyoung lifted his arms above his shoulders, concentrating on the feeling of the earth beneath the layer of stone floor and swiftly moved his hands towards each other until they form a mesh above his head. A mesh of vines conjures itself in front of him, just in time for the queen’s spell to hit it. The mesh of vines explode with a bang. 

Jinyoung holds out his right hand away from his body and lifts it above his head to conjure large trees to block the left entrance that the queen was running to. Jinyoung is just about to fling another spell towards her when a flash of light dashed past. “You, fairy!” she hissed, displeasure contorted her face into ugliness.

“Missed me?” Yugyeom jeered, his hands flicking spell after spell towards the queen who only managed to deflect half of it, leaving the rest to hit her. She groaned as she limped towards the exit that Mark had left unguarded. Jinyoung swung his arms forward with full force; conjuring vines that whipped towards the queen in full speed, finally tangling her. She struggles against the tight vines that held her in place, shrieking and shouting useless threats.  

“You were supposed to be dead. I poisoned you,” she shouted directly at Jinyoung. 

“Curses can be broken,” Jinyoung stated, finding it hard not to be smug. “Dark magic is penetrable by light.”

The evil queen glared at him as he got closer. 

“This is not the end!” she screamed. Her eyes turned white as a green fire began to consume her; the room quickly filling with smoke. 

“She’s getting away,” Yugyeom said, coughing heavily as he choked on the smoke. Jinyoung could feel himself suffocating on the smoke as it became too difficult to breath making him cough. His eyes watering as he desperately flailed his arms trying to capture the queen but it was too late. Yugyeom clapped his hands and the smoke visibly dissipated. When the smoke cleared, all that was left was the burnt vines from where she stood. 

“She must have gone to her chambers,” Yugyeom mumbled, ruffling his hair in frustration. “We have to go now,” he stressed.

“Mark?” Jinyoung called, suddenly aware of the absence of anything else besides Yugyeom and himself.

“He is bringing the villagers to safety. He’ll be alright,” Yugyeom called making Jinyoung swallow a thick lump in his throat.

 

-o0o-

 

The first thing that entered Mark’s mind when the castle wall rattled with a quake was that he should run towards it. The consecutive tremors after that only added to this thought building up an impatient fire within him. He needed to know Jinyoung was safe and he needed to know now.

He needed to lead the villagers to safety first but every inch of his body wanted to just turn back. His mind was working at a mile a minute and all he could imagine was the worst; that he would be too late. 

He eyed a man running next to him, stopping him before he could go any further. “Make sure to get everyone out of the castle,” he instructed, holding the man's arms harder than necessary. The man nodded and that was all Mark needed.

He ran. He ran as fast as his feet could take him. He had no idea where he was going but his feet had set a path to follow where the tremors were coming from. After what seemed like forever, He turned into a dark alley where the curtains were drawn dark and observed the fallen paintings from the walls. The sounds of banging, clanking and crashing could be heard and the tremors were strongest than it had been. He could hear faint sounds of shouting. 

His eyes set on large brown doors, that had been broken into parts. Once he went in there was no going back; he knows it. Jinyoung was in there and he might still be alive (please be alive). He held the sheath by his hip and absent-mindedly runs his hands over it. The engraving was so clear in his mind that he didn’t need to look at it to conjure the image of his father’s nobility insignia. He drew the sword and grips on it the way he held any of his weapons; with a hard iron grip. 

This was it; his battle. 

-o0o-

 

Yugyeom flung the doors to the queen’s chambers open with a flick of his finger. Jinyoung followed him with caution. Jackson, Youngjae and Bambam who were all armed with swords, followed them silently. Jinyoung wasn’t sure where Jaebum was but wherever he was, Jinyoung hoped he was still alive. 

“Welcome to my playground,” an echo of the queen’s voice rung through the room. The room was void of any furniture other than the enchanted mirror. There was no sign of the queen and every second that Jinyoung spent searching for her made his palms sweat. 

“This would be easy,” another one came, running a chill down Jinyoung’s spine. 

“We would make it difficult,” a voice interrupted, turning all heads in the room. Jaebum came in with a fierce expression, behind him stood a whole army. The castle’s huntsmen stood in standby and among them stood Jaebum’s father. Jinyoung felt a surge of pride fill his chest as he thought of how his father had laid out the help he needed for this moment. His father, as the king to all these people, had touched their lives and in turn they had been loyal to him. 

_ Thank you, father. _

A shrill laughter echoed through the empty room. “I would like to see you try!”

The ground beneath them started shifting and before them an army of soldiers started forming. The bricks and stones of the floor morphed into silver armor knights; Each of them holding a large shiny sword. Jinyoung could feel his heart pounding fast in his chest, sweat building on his forehead as adrenaline pumped through his veins. 

“I was weak when you first came for me. I was almost helpless but now I’m stronger than ever. You are nothing” Another laugh filled the room and the dark army move into attack position with a loud clash. 

“This is it, men,” Jinyoung proclaimed. “It is time to claim back what has been taken from us!”

He could hear the clanking of armour as the men behind him nodded. “It is time to take back our KINGDOM!” He shouted raising his fist into the air which was accompanied by the loud cheer of men. 

There was a moment of pin drop silence in which Jinyoung could only hear his own shallow breath and feel the sweat drip down his forehead before the true war began. His eyes watch carefully as the queen’s army, as if in slow motion, started to swing their swords, and he shouted the only words that could lead his own. 

“ATTACK!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> first of all, i am always so sorry for taking so long to finish this series. i think the next one might be the last and then i shall forbid myself from writing fairytale AUs. lol. secondly, forgive me if the writing is inconsistent. thirdly, thank you for reading this and being patient with me. you guys are truly the best. If you do have questions or want to be friends or even shout at me for sucking at posting you can find me on my tumblr [@got7doubleb](http://got7doubleb.tumblr.com) or on twitter @gotsichi7.


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